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Children and adults both learn motor sequences quickly, but do so differently

Children and adults both learn motor sequences quickly, but do so differently
Children and adults both learn motor sequences quickly, but do so differently
Both children and adults can learn motor sequences quickly in one learning session, yet little is known about potential age-related processes that underlie this fast sequence acquisition. Here, we examined the progressive performance changes in a one-session modified serial reaction time task in 6- and 10-year-old children and adults. We found that rapid sequence learning, as reflected by reaction time (RT), was comparable between groups. The learning was expressed through two behavioral processes: online progressive changes in RT while the task was performed in a continuous manner and offline changes in RT that emerged following a short rest. These offline and online RT changes were age-related; learning in 6-year-olds was primarily reflected through the offline process. In contrast, learning in adults was reflected through the online process; and both online and offline processes occurred concurrently in 10-year-olds. Our results suggest that early rapid sequence learning has a developmental profile. Although the unifying mechanism underlying these two age-related processes is unclear, we discuss possible explanations that need to be systematically elucidated in future studies.
Fast sequence learning, age-related, online process, offline process, procedural memory, declarative memory, fatigue, task pacing
1664-1078
Du, Yue
b6ac1fa2-23e2-4b66-a2d5-a007ac8e629a
Valentini, Nadia
38bac37d-ae0e-4791-9a1e-0929bdf6df3d
Kim, Min Joo
513ddc14-10a9-4b75-91a4-0604ee56cbda
Whitall, Jill
9761aefb-be80-4270-bc1f-0e726399376e
Clark, Jane E.
0c001e29-a4b1-46fa-9547-93896f11f197
Du, Yue
b6ac1fa2-23e2-4b66-a2d5-a007ac8e629a
Valentini, Nadia
38bac37d-ae0e-4791-9a1e-0929bdf6df3d
Kim, Min Joo
513ddc14-10a9-4b75-91a4-0604ee56cbda
Whitall, Jill
9761aefb-be80-4270-bc1f-0e726399376e
Clark, Jane E.
0c001e29-a4b1-46fa-9547-93896f11f197

Du, Yue, Valentini, Nadia, Kim, Min Joo, Whitall, Jill and Clark, Jane E. (2017) Children and adults both learn motor sequences quickly, but do so differently. Frontiers in Psychology. (doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00158).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Both children and adults can learn motor sequences quickly in one learning session, yet little is known about potential age-related processes that underlie this fast sequence acquisition. Here, we examined the progressive performance changes in a one-session modified serial reaction time task in 6- and 10-year-old children and adults. We found that rapid sequence learning, as reflected by reaction time (RT), was comparable between groups. The learning was expressed through two behavioral processes: online progressive changes in RT while the task was performed in a continuous manner and offline changes in RT that emerged following a short rest. These offline and online RT changes were age-related; learning in 6-year-olds was primarily reflected through the offline process. In contrast, learning in adults was reflected through the online process; and both online and offline processes occurred concurrently in 10-year-olds. Our results suggest that early rapid sequence learning has a developmental profile. Although the unifying mechanism underlying these two age-related processes is unclear, we discuss possible explanations that need to be systematically elucidated in future studies.

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Accepted/In Press date: 23 January 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 7 February 2017
Keywords: Fast sequence learning, age-related, online process, offline process, procedural memory, declarative memory, fatigue, task pacing
Organisations: Researcher Development

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 406238
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/406238
ISSN: 1664-1078
PURE UUID: ac51429d-fdd8-4628-82c2-e67bc618acb9

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Date deposited: 10 Mar 2017 10:43
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 05:05

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Contributors

Author: Yue Du
Author: Nadia Valentini
Author: Min Joo Kim
Author: Jill Whitall
Author: Jane E. Clark

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