Comparison of Implicit Motor Sequence Learning in Children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors
Sayed Kavos Salehi 1
Mahmood Sheikh 2
Nasser Naghdi 3
1 PhD in Motor Behavior, Department of Motor Behavior, School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Motor Behavior, School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3 Professor, Department of Physiology-Neurology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
10.22122/jrrs.v12i6.2792
Abstract
Introduction: This study was performed to compare the implicit motor sequence learning in children with and without developmental coordination disorder.Materials and Methods: To compare the implicit motor learning, serial reaction time task (SRT) was designed and used in C++ programming environment. In this study, 24 participated children were divided into two equal groups of with and without developmental coordination disorder; they practiced 10 blocks of SRT task during the two days with an interval of 24 hours. At the beginning of the test, no explanation was given to learners about the appearance of stimuli and motor learning took place implicitly. Data were analyzed using independent-t and ANOVA tests.Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups of children with and without developmental coordination disorder in speed (P = 0.235) and precision (P = 0.072) components. However, comparing the between subjects effects during blocks of motor sequence acquisition phase (indicating) significant differences between children with and without developmental disorder in both speed and accuracy variable (P > 0.001).Conclusion: Although children with developmental coordination disorder have difficulties in acquisition and learning of everyday motor skills, their implicit motor sequence is intact. Therefore, in the process of teaching and rehabilitation of children with developmental coordination disorder, we can take advantage from implicit learning.
Keywords
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD)
Implicit learning
Motor learning
Motor sequence
  1. Wilson PH, Larkin D. New and emerging approaches to understanding developmental coordination disorder. Hum Mov Sci 2008; 27(2): 171-6.
  2. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.
  3. Barnhart RC, Davenport MJ, Epps SB, Nordquist VM. Developmental coordination disorder. Phys Ther 2003; 83(8): 722-31.
  4. Gueze RH, Jongmans MJ, Schoemaker MM, Smits-Engelsman BC. Clinical and research diagnostic criteria for developmental coordination disorder: a review and discussion. Hum Mov Sci 2001; 20(1-2): 7-47.
  5. de Castelnau P, Albaret JM, Chaix Y, Zanone PG. Developmental coordination disorder pertains to a deficit in perceptuo-motor synchronization independent of attentional capacities. Hum Mov Sci 2007; 26(3): 477-90.
  6. Whitall J, Getchell N, McMenamin S, Horn C, Wilms-Floet A, Clark JE. Perception-action coupling in children with and without DCD: Frequency locking between task-relevant auditory signals and motor responses in a dual-motor task. Child Care Health Dev 2006; 32(6): 679-92.
  7. Martin NC, Piek JP, Hay D. DCD and ADHD: a genetic study of their shared aetiology. Hum Mov Sci 2006; 25(1): 110-24.
  8. Salehi SK, Sheikh M, Hemayattalab R, Humaneyan D. The Effect of Age-Related Changes and Explicit-Implicit Awareness on Mixed Motor Sequence Learning and its Consolidation. J Res Rehabil Sci 2016; 12(1): 1-9. [In Persian].
  9. Nejati V, Ashayeri H, Garusi M, Aghdasi MT. Comparison of explicit sequence motor learning in youth and elderly. Studies in Education and Psychology 2009; 9(2): 113-26. [In Persian].
  10. Thomas KM, Nelson CA. Serial reaction time learning in preschool- and school-age children. J Exp Child Psychol 2001; 79(4): 364-87.
  11. Salehi SK, Sheikh M, Hemayattala R, Humaneyan D. The Effect of Different Ages levels and explicit - implicit Knowledge on Motor Sequence Learning. Int J Env Sci Ed 2016; 11(18): 13157-65.
  12. Lejeune C, Catale C, Willems S, Meulemans T. Intact procedural motor sequence learning in developmental coordination disorder. Res Dev Disabil 2013; 34(6): 1974-81.
  13. Nicolson RI, Fawcett AJ. Procedural learning difficulties: reuniting the developmental disorders? Trends Neurosci 2007; 30(4): 135-41.
  14. Gheysen F, Van Waelvelde H, Fias W. Impaired visuo-motor sequence learning in Developmental Coordination Disorder. Res Dev Disabil 2011; 32(2): 749-56.
  15. Wilson PH, Maruff P, Lum J. Procedural learning in children with developmental coordination disorder. Hum Mov Sci 2003; 22(4-5): 515–26.
  16. Vicari S, Finzi A, Menghini D, Marotta L, Baldi S, Petrosini L. Do children with developmental dyslexia have an implicit learning deficit? J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2005; 76(10): 1392-7.
  17. Lum JA, Conti-Ramsden G, Page D, Ullman MT. Working, declarative and procedural memory in specific language impairment. Cortex 2012; 48(9): 1138-54.
  18. Barnes KA, Howard JH, Jr., Howard DV, Kenealy L, Vaidya CJ. Two forms of implicit learning in childhood ADHD. Dev Neuropsychol 2010; 35(5): 494-505.
  19. Gabriel A, Maillart C, Guillaume M, Stefaniak N, Meulemans T. Exploration of serial structure procedural learning in children with language impairment. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2011; 17(2): 336-43.
  20. Nissen MJ, Bullemer P. Attentional requirements of learning: Evidence from performance measures. Cognitive Psychology 1987; 19(1): 1-32.

Article View 43,657
PDF Download 35,161