Procedural learning was preserved in healthy older adults and retention was even enhanced compared to younger adults, processes associated with activation changes in the contralateral sensorimotor and premotor cortices.
Both young and older adults showed significant procedural learning on a modified serial reaction time task.
Retention of procedural motor memories was significantly enhanced in older adults compared to younger adults.
Older participants showed more robust recruitment of the left sensorimotor cortex (SM1) during procedural learning compared to younger adults.
Left premotor cortex activity during procedural learning predicted retention in both age groups.
Procedural learning and retention in healthy aging are associated with activation changes in the contralateral sensorimotor and premotor cortices.
This research suggests that healthy older adults (ages 54-73) are fully capable of learning new motor sequences — the kind of automatic, practiced movements involved in skills like typing or playing an instrument — and may actually be better at retaining what they learned the next day compared to younger adults (ages 18-32). Both groups improved their reaction times during a computerized sequence-learning task performed in an MRI scanner, and both remembered what they had learned when retested the following day. Surprisingly, the older group showed stronger memory for the learned sequence on Day 2, even when accounting for the fact that older adults tend to be slower overall. Brain imaging revealed that older adults relied more heavily on a region called the sensorimotor cortex (on the left side of the brain, which controls the right hand used in the task) while learning the sequences. Additionally, activity in a nearby region called the premotor cortex during learning predicted how well participants of any age would remember the sequence the next day, suggesting this brain area plays a key role in storing motor memories. These findings matter because they challenge the common assumption that aging necessarily leads to worse motor learning and memory. This research suggests that at least in healthy older individuals, the brain can adapt — possibly by recruiting motor-related regions more strongly — to support effective learning and even superior overnight retention of new movement patterns. This has potential implications for rehabilitation and skill training programs designed for older adults.
Doppler C, Meyer L, Weidner R, Weiss P, Fink G. (2026). Procedural Learning and Retention in Older Subjects: The Contribution of Sensorimotor and Premotor Cortex.. Brain and behavior. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.71845