The fine motor functions of the hand develop into adulthood, with the maturation of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems and experience both playing a role. How much does experience matter, and how much does biological maturity influence fine motor performance? We saw earlier that the effect of experience differs between simple repetitive and complex finger movements in adolescent girls.

Based on this, the HUN-REN-ELTE-PPKE Adolescent Development Research Group examined how biological maturation and experience affect fine motor skills in the hand, depending on instrumental experience, the complexity of hand movements, hand dominance, and gender differences.

A total of 225 adolescents (123 females) participated in the study. Biological maturity was assessed using ultrasound bone age estimation, while fine motor experience was evaluated based on the duration of instrumental training, age, and hand dominance. Fine motor performance was measured by measuring maximum fine motor speed and performance during complex finger movement sequences using a special data glove.

The main finding of the study is that, in the absence of specific instrumental experience, complex fine motor performance is determined by biological maturity. At the same time, age is the best predictor of the speed of simple repetitive finger movements.

When playing an instrument, the length of time spent in instrumental training is the best predictor of performance in complex finger movements, i.e., the effect of practice "overrides" the effect of biological age.  

The practical relevance of the results is that biological maturity has an effect on complex fine motor performance even in adolescence, which can be significantly and favorably influenced by specific fine motor experience.

The latest findings of the HUN-REN-ELTE-PPKE Adolescent Development Research Group, led by Prof. Dr. Ilona Kovács, were published in the prestigious Springer Nature Scientific Reports journal (Q1), with Dr. Andrea Berencsi, associate professor at the Institute for the Methodology of Special Needs Education and Rehabilitation, member of the Somatic Education working group, and head of the Movement Learning and Movement Control Research Group.

You can read about the different roles of biological age and musical experience in the fine motor development of adolescents, as well as further findings from the HUN-REN-ELTE-PPKE Adolescent Development Research Group, in the latest thematic issue of Magyar Tudomány.