Regular rhythmic and audio-visual stimulations enhance procedural learning of a perceptual-motor sequence in healthy adults: A pilot study

Procedural learning is essential for the effortless execution of many everyday life activities. However, little is known about the conditions influencing the acquisition of procedural skills. The literature suggests that sensory environment may influence the acquisition of perceptual-motor sequences, as tested by a Serial Reaction Time Task. In the current study, we investigated the effects of auditory stimulations on procedural learning of a visuo-motor sequence. Given that the literature shows that regular rhythmic auditory rhythm and multisensory stimulations improve motor speed, we expected to improve procedural learning (reaction times and errors) with repeated practice with auditory stimulations presented either simultaneously with visual stimulations or with a regular tempo, compared to control conditions (e.g., with irregular tempo). Our results suggest that both congruent audio-visual stimulations and regular rhythmic auditory stimulations promote procedural perceptual-motor learning. On the contrary, auditory stimulations with irregular or very quick tempo alter learning. We discuss how regular rhythmic multisensory stimulations may improve procedural learning with respect of a multisensory rhythmic integration process.

Are children with childhood apraxia of speech a subgroup of children with developmental coordination disorders?

Motor development is related to various aspects of human development, from speaking to taking care of oneself and participating in sports. Developmental disorder affecting the motor domain is known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), which results in a marked impairment in motor skills, which in turn can have a significant impact on activities of everyday living (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Several studies have shown that the motor deficit in DCD is not restricted to limb control and may be a more general phenomenon that could affect the speech motor system (Ho and Wilmut, 2010). According to Maassen (2002), there is strong evidence that delayed or deviant motor development and perceptual motor learning play a role in many children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Knowing that articulation is a mechanical act executed by the complex speech apparatus, could this potentially mean that children with CAS are a subgroup of children with DCD? Different studies demonstrated that children with CAS had problems with various aspects of nonspeech oral motor function (Tükel, Björelius, Henningsson, McAllister and Eliasson, 2015), as well as balance, aiming and catching (Iuzzini-Siegel, 2019). Further evidences of impaired motor skills could help us understand the underpinnings of CAS.

Changes in intentional binding effect during a novel perceptual-motor task

Perceptual-motor learning describes the process of improving the smoothness and accuracy of movements. Intentional binding (IB) is a phenomenon whereby the length of time between performing a voluntary action and the production of a sensory outcome during perceptual-motor control is perceived as being shorter than the reality. How IB may change over the course of perceptual-motor learning, however, has not been explicitly investigated. Here, we developed a set of IB tasks during perceptual-motor learning. Participants were instructed to stop a circular moving object by key press when it reached the center of a target circle on the display screen. The distance between the center of the target circle and the center of the moving object was measured, and the error was used to approximate the perceptual-motor performance index. This task also included an additional exercise that was unrelated to the perceptual-motor task: after pressing the key, a sound was presented after a randomly chosen delay of 200, 500, or 700 ms and the participant had to estimate the delay interval. The difference between the estimated and actual delay was used as the IB value. A cluster analysis was then performed using the error values from the first and last task to group the participants based on their perceptual-motor performance. Participants showing a very small change in error value, and thus demonstrating a small effect of perceptual-motor learning, were classified into cluster 1. Those who exhibited a large decrease in error value from the first to the last set, and thus demonstrated a strong improvement in perceptual-motor performance, were classified into cluster 2. Those who exhibited perceptual-motor learning also showed improvements in the IB value. Our data suggest that IB is elevated when perceptual-motor learning occurs.