A latest research shows those who have crossed 24 years of their lives have already reached the peak of their cognitive motor performance.
Cognitive motor performance can be explained as brain's ability to process something and react to it. Researchers at the Simon Fraser University, Canada, studied how humans compensate for age-related decline in cognitive motor skills.
For the study, the researchers analysed the digital performance records of 3,305 StarCraft 2 players, aged between 16 and 44. StarCraft 2 is a brutal competitive intergalactic computer war game that players often play to win money.
The researchers stated that the players' performance records that can be readily replayed comprise big data because they represent thousands of hours worth of strategic real-time cognitive-based moves performed at varied skill levels.
In order to understand the cognitive performance of the participants, researchers used complex statistical modelling.
"After around 24 years of age, players show slowing in a measure of cognitive speed that is known to be important for performance," Joe Thompson, a psychology doctoral student, the lead author of the study said in a news release. "This cognitive performance decline is present even at higher levels of skill," he said.
He also said that the findings showed a new side of human brain development. "Older players, though slower, seem to compensate by employing simpler strategies and using the game's interface more efficiently than younger players, enabling them to retain their skill, despite cognitive motor-speed loss," Thompson said.
For instance, the older players often use shortcuts and advanced command keys to recompense for declining speed in executing real time decisions.
The findings say that cognitive-motor capabilities keep on changing and adapting in adulthood and performance is based on the results of these changes
The researchers noted that the study did not show a link between adaptive behaviors to compensate for declining cognitive motor skills and the use of advanced technology.
