Motor memories can be strengthened through online practice and offline consolidation. Offline consolidation involves the stabilization of memory traces in post-practice periods. Following initial consolidation of a motor memory, subsequent practice of the motor skill can lead to reactivation and reconsolidation of the memory trace. The length of motor memory reactivation may influence motor learning outcomes; for example, brief, as opposed to long, practice of a previously learned motor skill appears to optimize intermanual transfer in healthy young adults. However, the influence of aging on reactivation-based motor learning has been scarcely explored. Here, the effects of brief and long motor memory reactivation schedules on the retention and intermanual transfer of a visuomotor tracing task are explored in healthy older adults. Forty older adults practiced a virtual star-tracing task either three (“brief reactivation”) or ten (“long reactivation”) times per session over a two-week period. Comparison with a previously reported group of younger adults revealed significant age-related differences in the effect of the motor memory reactivation schedule on the intermanual transfer of the motor task. In older adults, unlike younger adults, no significant between-group differences were found by practice condition in the speed, accuracy, or skill of intermanual task transfer. That is, motor task transfer in healthy younger, but not older, adults appears to benefit from brief memory reactivation. These results support the use of age-specific motor training approaches and may inform motor practice scheduling, with possible implications for physical rehabilitation, sport, and music.

Motor skills are practiced to retain and transfer to task variations and different environments. Here we report that, contrary to the adage that more practice is better, long-term reactivation of a motor memory with as little as one trial leads to comparable retention as more trials, while too few trials or too many trials impair transfer to the non-trained hand. Results may impact practice scheduling in sport, music, and rehabilitation.

Introduction/Objective: Primary care and community health providers are often at the front lines of dementia screening. However, many providers rely on clinical judgment and subjective feedback from either the patient or a reliable informant to screen for cognitive and functional concerns, in part because many objective tests are too long and burdensome. Recently, a timed performance-based test has been developed to minimize the effects of patient characteristics (e.g., sex, education) on screening results and eliminate the need for an informant. This study evaluated the reliability and acceptability of a shorter version of this performance-based test. Methods: A non-representative convenience sample of 50 community-dwelling older adults (mean±SD age: 75.4±7.0 years) in Los Angeles County, California (United States) and surrounding areas completed the original six-trial version, while the duration of each repetition of each trial was also recorded. Survey and free responses were also collected. Results: The most reliable abbreviated version involved only three trials (mean completion time=232 seconds), 48% faster than the original version with an ICC=0.78. Participant feedback indicated acceptability based on overall positive experiences with the test and willingness to complete the test in a clinical setting. Conclusions: A reliable and acceptable shorter version of the test was developed. Future work will evaluate test feasibility in primary care and community health settings.