AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN ELECTROMYOGRAM IN MOTOR LEARNING PROCESS

Abstract

This study compared surface electromyogram (sEMG) changes associated with the motor learning process (MLP) in young adults and elderly subjects. Participants performed 50 repetitions of arc drawing by connecting three points on a computer tablet using elbow flexion-extension. sEMG changes of the biceps, anterior-deltoid, and mid-deltoid were recorded. Drawing errors (differences between a perfect and drawn arc) were analyzed for each repetition. Drawing error was not significantly different between groups. A significant reduction in mean sEMG was observed in the young group alone. Furthermore, the elderly group had a higher percentage of low amplitude potentials in the sEMG than the young group. These results suggest that a reduction in sEMG during the MLP does not commonly occur in elderly subjects.