Age-Related Shift Towards Feedforward Motor Control Under Uncertainty

Age-Related Shift Towards Feedforward Motor Control Under Uncertainty | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Age-Related Shift Towards Feedforward Motor Control Under Uncertainty Nicholas Kreter, Catherine Sager, Deborah Barany, Neil Dundon, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8564293/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Humans perform movements in the face of uncertainty on a daily basis. To accomplish these tasks without error, young adults frequently rely on feedback-mediated motor strategies that allow them to update their movement as certainty evolves. However, it remains unclear how aging impacts the ability to plan and execute movement under uncertain conditions. To investigate how aging affects the ability to plan actions under uncertainty, we designed a “go-before-you-know” (GBYK) reaching task in which we varied certainty by changing the probability that a reach target would be correct. Fifteen healthy young adults and fifteen older adults completed this task while undergoing fMRI. Behaviorally, young adults employed a strategy consistent with feedback-mediated control, biasing their reach trajectories toward the more likely target when uncertainty was low, and intermediate to potential targets when uncertainty was high. Older adults employed a different approach, characterized by a pronounced rightward bias, particularly under high uncertainty, suggesting a shift toward feedforward control. Neuroimaging results mirrored these behavioral patterns, revealing that young adults encoded task certainty and reach direction in sensorimotor regions more strongly than older adults. Overall, these findings suggest that aging diminishes the ability to flexibly encode task-related uncertainty, resulting in a shift towards feedforward control strategies. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Motor control Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Neural ageing Uncertainty reaching motor planning online control Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8564293","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":573185404,"identity":"fef07097-a0f9-44d4-b362-ecd22bcd0fb4","order_by":0,"name":"Nicholas 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To accomplish these tasks without error, young adults frequently rely on feedback-mediated motor strategies that allow them to update their movement as certainty evolves. However, it remains unclear how aging impacts the ability to plan and execute movement under uncertain conditions. To investigate how aging affects the ability to plan actions under uncertainty, we designed a \u0026ldquo;go-before-you-know\u0026rdquo; (GBYK) reaching task in which we varied certainty by changing the probability that a reach target would be correct. Fifteen healthy young adults and fifteen older adults completed this task while undergoing fMRI. Behaviorally, young adults employed a strategy consistent with feedback-mediated control, biasing their reach trajectories toward the more likely target when uncertainty was low, and intermediate to potential targets when uncertainty was high. 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