From a juggling newsletter I got this:
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www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16690635Age Ageing. 2006 Jul;35(4):422-7. Epub 2006 May 11.
Motor plasticity in a juggling task in older adults-a developmental study.
Voelcker-Rehage C, Willimczik K.
Jacobs Center for Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development,
International University, Bremen, Germany.
c.voelcker-rehage@iu-bremen.de
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: to examine the plasticity of motor performance in old age.
Older adults were instructed and trained in a juggling task and their
performances were compared, first, within the group of older adults
and, second, with the performances of children, youths and younger
adults.
SUBJECTS: older adults, children, youths and younger adults (n =
1,206, range 6-89 years).
METHODS: participants were asked to learn a juggling task. Performance
was tested before semantic instruction (pre-test 1), after semantic
instruction (pre-test 2) and after 6 days of juggling practice
(post-test). None of the participants had prior experiences in
juggling. Results were analysed using repeated measure analysis of
variance (ANOVA).
RESULTS: older adults showed a clear improvement in juggling
performance after instruction and after six training sessions. On
average, they reached performances comparable with those of children
aged between 10 and 14 years, and with those of younger adults aged
between 30 and 59 years. Only youths and younger adults aged between
15 and 29 years showed significantly higher performances at baseline,
after instruction and after training.
CONCLUSIONS: older adults exhibit high reserve capacity, that is, a
potential for learning 'new' motor skills.
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Not bad, although I would like to be in that 15 to 29 year old bracket again . . .
