Explicit Aiming Strategy Decreases the Differences in Visuomotor Adaptation between Children and Young Adults

ABSTRACT

We examined the visuomotor adaptation of children and adults with and without explicit aiming strategies. Younger children were slower and less smooth in visuomotor adaption than adults. Specifically, in the course of adaptation and re-adaptation, older children had better movement accuracy than adults, while their movement speed and smoothness were similar to those of the adults. Explicit aiming improved movement accuracy for all participants, but also facilitated movement smoothness for younger children. The contribution of explicit adjustment was greater for older children than for younger children. These results show the ongoing development of cognitive functions and movement experiences in children.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of SZU and Knowledge Innovation Program of Shenzhen to JHY (JCYJ20170302143406192). There are no conflicts of interest. The authors thank the research participants and research assistants for their cooperation. We would be grateful to the reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of Shenzhen [JCYJ20170302143406192]; Natural Science Foundation of SZU.