Average Performance and Performance Variability on a Brief Functional Fine Motor Test Reflect Distinct Behavioral Constructs in Aging

Authors

• Chung-Fu Sun, Arizona State University
• Kyle B. Tomlin, Arizona State University
• Jennapher Lingo VanGilder, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• Andrew Hooyman, Chapman UniversityFollow
• Alexandra M. Reed, Arizona State University
• Jessica L. Trevino, Arizona State University
• Sydney Y. Schaefer, Arizona State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-21-2026

Abstract

Prior work in older adults has developed a brief functional fine motor test, which involves repeated timed trials of an upper-limb task. Performance has been associated with global and domain-specific neuropsychological tests as well as putative markers of Alzheimer’s disease when scored using variability in trial time; however, the extent to which task performance depends on motor ability has not been established nor quantified. This retrospective study examined whether mean trial time and trial time variability (measured as intrasubject standard deviation in trial time) were differentially associated with standard assessments of motor and cognitive function. Forty-eight older adults with no functional impairment completed the functional fine motor test, which was compared to grooved pegboard test performance, grip strength, and Rey–Osterrieth complex figure test (RCFT) delayed recall. Generalized linear models included age, sex, education, and both scoring methods on the functional fine motor test (mean trial time and trial time variability) as predictors. Longer mean trial time was associated with slower grooved pegboard performance and lower grip strength, whereas trial time variability was not associated with either standard motor assessment. These findings, along with patterns of partial correlations, suggest that mean trial time may predominantly reflect motor function while trial time variability does not. Together, these findings highlight the value of considering both mean performance and performance variability in tasks that include multiple trials, offering an efficient approach to assessing multiple domains in older adults.

Comments

This article was originally published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, volume 18, in 2026. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2026.1957422

Recommended Citation

Sun C-F, Tomlin KB, Lingo VanGilder J, Hooyman A, Reed AM, Trevino JL and Schaefer SY (2026) Average performance and performance variability on a brief functional fine motor test reflect distinct behavioral constructs in aging. Front. Aging Neurosci. 18:1957422. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2026.1957422

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.