100 Section - Role of Visuospatial Function in Motor Learning: Construction, Perception, and Memory in Hand Dexterity

Objectives : This study examined how visuospatial construction, perception, and memory affect motor learning in hand dexterity tasks, along with age-related differences in these effects.

Design: This study included 23 independent healthy older adults and 22 younger adults. The experiment included a pre-test, practice sessions, a 5-min retention test, a visuospatial function assessment, a 24-h retention test, and a hand-dexterity task using a grasping device. Terminal feedback was provided after each trial but not during the test sessions. The practice session comprised five blocks (three trials each). Visuospatial function was assessed using the Rey Complex Figure Test after the 5-min retention test. Statistical analyses included linear mixed models (LMM) with grasping error as the dependent variable, test session × age group as factors, and practice effects as practice block × age group LMM. Rey's test scores were compared, and multiple regression analysis was performed with 24-h retention performance as the dependent variable and age, copy score, and delayed recall score as predictors. Significance was set at p ≤0.05, and analyses were performed using R (v. 4.5.1).

Results: The main effect of test session was significant, showing improved grasping errors from the pre-test to both retention tests (χ² = 59.70, p < 0.01). The Rey delayed recall scores were significantly higher in younger adults than in older adults (p < 0.01). Multiple regression revealed that only the Rey delayed recall score significantly predicted 24-hour motor learning performance (β = -0.120, p = 0.038), with age and copy score not being significant.

Conclusion: Visuospatial memory, but not construction and perception, was found to be a predictor of motor learning across age, highlighting the importance of individualized rehabilitation approaches based on visuospatial memory capacity.