LAUSR

Ageing seems to affect sensorimotor adaptation by impairing explicit strategy use. Here we recorded electrophysiological (EEG) responses during visuomotor rotation in both young (n=24) and older adults (n=25), to investigate the neural processes that underpin putative age-related strategic impairment. We measured the feedback related negativity (FRN) and the P3 in response to task-feedback, as electrophysiological markers of task error processing and outcome evaluation. The age two groups adapted similarly and showed comparable amounts after effects and savings when re-exposed to the same perturbation several days after the initial session. Older adults, however, had less distinct EEG responses (i.e. reduced FRN amplitudes) to negative and positive task feedback. The P3 did not differ between age groups. Both young and older adults also showed a sustained late positivity following task feedback. Measured at the frontal electrode Fz, this sustained activity was negatively associated with the amount of voluntary disengagement of explicit strategy as well as with savings. In conclusion, despite preserved task performance, we find clear differences in the neural responses to errors in older people, which suggests that there is a fundamental and inexorable decline in this aspect of sensorimotor brain function with age.