Prediction and updating abilities in motor imagery during the Timed Up and Go task in young and older adults

Aging is associated with alterations in internal representations of action, potential mediators of fall risk, often examined through motor imagery. It is unclear, however, whether age affects temporal aspects of imagery and differentially impacts the predictive versus updating components of internal models. This study investigated age-related differences in motor imagery during the Timed Up and Go (TUG) task and examined sensorimotor and neuropsychological factors influencing performance.

Thirty-six young adults (22–42 years) and fifty-two older adults (66–86 years) performed a series of TUG trials along with imagined trials before (prediction) and after (update) execution. Temporal congruence, the difference between imagined and executed TUG durations, was examined in terms of prediction and update errors. Eleven sensorimotor and neuropsychological screening measures were analyzed as correlates of performance.

Older adults exhibited better temporal congruence than younger adults during both prediction and update, and similar improvement across repeated trials. Overestimation of TUG time during motor imagery was linked to higher movement self-consciousness, while age-related changes in temporal congruence were associated with visual motor imagery ability.

These findings challenge the prevailing belief that motor imagery declines with age, indicating that internal models remain stable in older adults during both prediction and update, at least during familiar daily tasks. This work contributes to a more precise characterization of motor imagery capacities in aging and highlights the potential of this paradigm for training interventions and fall-risk mitigation.