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

•Children with CP differ from TD children in performance on the SRT task.•Children with CP learn the explicit components of the SRT task as TD children but in a slower pace.•Children with CP do not learn the implicit sequence of the SRT task.•Implicit sequence learning among children with CP is not...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research in developmental disabilities 2013-11, Vol.34 (11), p.3672-3678
Main Authors: Gofer-Levi, Moran, Silberg, Tamar, Brezner, Amichai, Vakil, Eli
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescents
Biological and medical sciences
Case-Control Studies
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral Palsy (CP)
Cerebral Palsy - complications
Cerebral Palsy - physiopathology
Child
Child Development - physiology
Children
Female
Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy
Humans
Learning
Male
Medical sciences
Motor Skills - physiology
Motor Skills Disorders - complications
Motor Skills Disorders - physiopathology
Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes)
Neurology
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Reaction Time
Sequence learning
Sequences
Serial Learning - physiology
Serial reaction time (SRT) task
Skill learning (SL)
Task performance
Young Adult
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Summary:•Children with CP differ from TD children in performance on the SRT task.•Children with CP learn the explicit components of the SRT task as TD children but in a slower pace.•Children with CP do not learn the implicit sequence of the SRT task.•Implicit sequence learning among children with CP is not age dependent.•Implicit sequence learning is unrelated to the level of motor impairment in CP. Skill learning (SL) is learning as a result of repeated exposure and practice, which encompasses independent explicit (response to instructions) and implicit (response to hidden regularities) processes. Little is known about the effects of developmental disorders, such as Cerebral Palsy (CP), on the ability to acquire new skills. We compared performance of CP and typically developing (TD) children and adolescents in completing the serial reaction time (SRT) task, which is a motor sequence learning task, and examined the impact of various factors on this performance as indicative of the ability to acquire motor skills. While both groups improved in performance, participants with CP were significantly slower than TD controls and did not learn the implicit sequence. Our results indicate that SL in children and adolescents with CP is qualitatively and quantitatively different than that of their peers. Understanding the unique aspects of SL in children and adolescents with CP might help plan appropriate and efficient interventions.
ISSN:0891-4222
1873-3379
DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.07.029