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Tengrinews.kz - It's commonly believed that children pick up new skills faster than adults, whether it's learning a language or practicing dance moves. However, researchers from Denmark found that physiology alone doesn’t confirm this, according to Naked Science.
Experts from the University of Copenhagen compared how children and adults learn motor skills by testing their ability to perform a new movement task and examined how age differences in the central nervous system affect this process. The findings were published in the journal Developmental Science.
The experiment involved 132 participants across four age groups: 8-10 years, 12-14 years, 16-18 years, and 20-30 years. In a laboratory setting, they completed a task requiring them to move a cursor on a screen using quick, precise finger movements. Their performance was measured immediately after familiarization with the task, after a 30-minute training session followed by a short break, and again 24 hours after starting the experiment.
During the training, participants aged 16-18 and 20-30 showed significantly greater improvement in skills compared to the 8-10 age group. However, the next day, the situation shifted.
The study’s authors noted that older participants benefited more from initial task familiarization.
"We suspect cognitive development and an enhanced ability to process information play a role - adults may have more experience with following instructions and putting them into practice. But when we look at what happens from the end of the training to participants’ return the next day, the dynamic reverses," they explained.
The youngest participants showed improvement almost overnight, while adults partially lost their proficiency. Younger children were better at consolidating their memory after training.
The researchers suggested that sleep might aid young children in retaining information after training, but other factors are likely at play as well. For example, teens and adults tend to sleep less and engage in a wider range of activities throughout the day, which could interfere with retaining new knowledge due to competing mental demands.
The study’s authors believe their findings are relevant in fields like sports and music, where learning physical movements is essential. The conclusions could also be beneficial in rehabilitation programs.
"We hope this new understanding of age-related differences will assist physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and other specialists in developing effective training protocols," the psychologists emphasized.
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