The effects of healthy aging on mental imagery as revealed by egocentric and allocentric mental spatial transformations.

摘要: Previous studies suggest that mental rotation can be accomplished by using different spatial transformations. When adopting the allocentric transformation, individuals imagine stimulus referring to its intrinsic coordinate frame, while when egocentric transformation they rely on multisensory and sensory-motor mechanisms. However, how these transformations evolve during healthy aging has received little attention. Here we investigated visual, multisensory, components of imagery change with normal aging. Fifteen elderly 15 young participants were asked perform two laterality tasks within either an or frame reference. Participants had judge handedness a visual hand (egocentric task) location marker placed left right side same (allocentric task). Both hands presented at various angular departures left, right, center screen. performing task, less accurate slower for biomechanically awkward postures (i.e., lateral orientations). Their performance also decreased stimuli laterally. The findings revealed is associated specific degradation mechanisms necessary accomplish complex effector-centered Moreover, failure find difference in judging suggests does not necessarily impair non-dominant programs.