Age-Related Differences in Bilateral Asymmetry in Cycling Performance

Bilateral asymmetry, a form of limb laterality in the context of moving two limbs, emerges in childhood. Children and adults show lateral preference in tasks that involve the upper and lower limbs. The importance of research in limb laterality is the insight it could provide about lateralized functi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research quarterly for exercise and sport 2012-03, Vol.83 (1), p.114-119
Main Authors: Liu, Ting, Jensen, Jody L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Differences
Age Factors
Age Groups
Analysis of Variance
Asymmetry
Athletic Performance - physiology
Bicycling
Bicycling - physiology
Brain Hemisphere Functions
Child
Child, Preschool
Children
Correlation
Data Analysis
Early Adolescents
Ergometry
Evidence
Female
Functional Laterality - physiology
Handedness
Humans
Lateral Dominance
limb laterality
Male
Motor ability
pedaling
Performance Factors
Physical Activities
Preferences
Psychomotor Skills
Puberty
Social Influences
Specialization
Statistical Analysis
Studies
Task Analysis
Young Adult
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Summary:Bilateral asymmetry, a form of limb laterality in the context of moving two limbs, emerges in childhood. Children and adults show lateral preference in tasks that involve the upper and lower limbs. The importance of research in limb laterality is the insight it could provide about lateralized functions of the cerebral hemispheres. Analyzing bilateral asymmetry as a function of pedaling rate is important for a variety of reasons. One concerns the adaptability of the developing motor system to adjust to changing task requirements. Another concerns the potential influence of bilateral asymmetry on success of motor skill performance. Identifying the less dominant limb may help educators develop training programs to improve children's motor skill performance. Finally, quantifying pedaling asymmetry across different pedaling rates could provide insight into motor control principles for left/right coordination, which have been investigated in previous studies. The purpose of this study was to examine whether bilateral asymmetry changed with pedaling rates and to investigate the association between bilateral asymmetry and cycling performance in children and adults (i.e., participants' capacity to meet task goals and the developing motor system's adaptability to the changing task). An additional objective of this study was to determine whether the dominant leg, as identified by kicking, would contribute more to performance accuracy than the nondominant leg. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)
ISSN:0270-1367
2168-3824
DOI:10.1080/02701367.2012.10599832