Deficit in implicit motor sequence learning among children and adolescents with spastic Cerebral Palsy

Abstract Background and Purpose. Recovery of motor skills following stroke is supported, in part, by the implicit memory system. However, attempts to guide learning commonly use explicit instructions concerning “how to” perform a movement task. The purpose of this work was to systematically investigate the impact of explicit information (EI) on implicit motor-sequence learning using the ipsilesional arm in people with damage in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) distribution. Subjects and Methods. Ten people with unilateral stroke in the MCA distribution affecting the sensorimotor cortical areas and 10 people with no known pathology or impairment (control participants) were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group was provided with EI and one group was not (EI and No-EI groups, respectively) as the participants practiced an implicit motor-sequencing task over 3 days, with a retention test on day 4. Results. A 3-way interaction demonstrated that, across days of practice, EI had opposite effects on implicit motor-sequence performance for the 2 groups. Post hoc tests confirmed that EI facilitated the performance of the control participants in the EI group but interfered with the performance of the participants with stroke in the EI group. This interference effect persisted, and was evident during the retention test in the participants with stroke in the EI group. Discussion and Conclusion. Explicit information was detrimental for implicit motor-sequence learning following MCA stroke. Rehabilitation outcomes may benefit from consideration of stroke location when determining the degree to which EI can augment implicit motor skill learning.

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Motor and non-motor sequence learning in children and adolescents with cerebellar damage

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617705050587 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 482-487 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

ANDREA BERGER ◽

MICHELLE SADEH ◽

GABRIEL TZUR ◽

AVINOAM SHUPER ◽

LIORA KORNREICH ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Sequence Learning ◽

Brain Plasticity ◽

Control Sample ◽

Control Group ◽

Perceptual Task ◽

Surgical Removal ◽

Motor Sequence Learning ◽

Motor Sequence ◽

Random Block

Cerebellar involvement in motor and non-motor sequence learning was examined with serial reaction time tasks (SRT). Our sample consisted of 8 children and adolescents who had undergone surgical removal of a benign posterior fossa tumor (PFT) during childhood. None of them had undergone chemotherapy or cranial radiation therapy (CRT). Ages ranged from 1–11 years at surgery and 9–17 years at testing. The children were tested not earlier than 2.5 years after surgery (M= 5.9 years), enabling brain plasticity and recovery of functions. Their performance was compared with a matched control sample. The PFT group was not impaired in the implicit learning of sequences, as reflected in their performance in blocks with a repeated sequence, both before and after a random block. However, in the perceptual task, their performance deteriorated more than that of the control group when a random block was introduced, suggesting that it was more difficult for the patients to respond flexibly or change their response set when encountering changing task demands. These results are in line with another study by our group on task switching with the same patients. (JINS, 2005,11, 482–487.)

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