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Impaired sleep-related learning in children with Williams Syndrome

Impaired sleep-related learning in children with Williams Syndrome
Impaired sleep-related learning in children with Williams Syndrome
Recent research has established that sleep is essential for memory consolidation in learning and academic performance of children and adults. Similar evidence in childhood is emerging. Conversely, sleep deprivation and/or sleep problems usually weaken these functions. The present study investigates the association between sleep related learning in school-aged children with Williams syndrome (N=14) compared to the typically developing children (N=14). Sleep was measured using actigraphy and parents completed the Child Sleep Health Questionnaire. Accuracy performance on a well-characterised procedural learning task- the finger tapping motor sequence task (FTT) was assessed on three sessions. Children in the typically developing group showed increased accuracy scores following a period of sleep (14% improvement) compared with wake (drop of 2%). In contrast children with Williams syndrome showed an initial improvement in accuracy on the training session, albeit slow, but their accuracy deteriorated following a period of sleep. The sleep-related decrement in performance on the procedural task may reflect sleep problems that are now well characterised in the WS group. This study demonstrated the contribution of sleep to procedural learning in typically developing children. Further studies may elucidate the reasons why similar sleep related benefits are not seen in children with Williams syndrome. Meanwhile practitioners and families should ensure that children obtain adequate sleep in order to maximise their attention readiness to learn and achieve optimum cognitive performance.
2329-9282
1-10
Dimitriou, Dagmara
e0254a64-7764-4533-886b-93597d8ca7c9
Karmiloff-Smith, Annette
b205fed0-9a5f-4384-8c4d-5cddf8063578
Ashworth, Anna
7de5ce4f-3aaf-480a-a78d-3dc1f33a1a08
Hill, Catherine
867cd0a0-dabc-4152-b4bf-8e9fbc0edf8d
Dimitriou, Dagmara
e0254a64-7764-4533-886b-93597d8ca7c9
Karmiloff-Smith, Annette
b205fed0-9a5f-4384-8c4d-5cddf8063578
Ashworth, Anna
7de5ce4f-3aaf-480a-a78d-3dc1f33a1a08
Hill, Catherine
867cd0a0-dabc-4152-b4bf-8e9fbc0edf8d

Dimitriou, Dagmara, Karmiloff-Smith, Annette, Ashworth, Anna and Hill, Catherine (2014) Impaired sleep-related learning in children with Williams Syndrome. Pediatrics Research International Journal, 2013 (662275), 1-10. (doi:10.5171/2013.662275).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Recent research has established that sleep is essential for memory consolidation in learning and academic performance of children and adults. Similar evidence in childhood is emerging. Conversely, sleep deprivation and/or sleep problems usually weaken these functions. The present study investigates the association between sleep related learning in school-aged children with Williams syndrome (N=14) compared to the typically developing children (N=14). Sleep was measured using actigraphy and parents completed the Child Sleep Health Questionnaire. Accuracy performance on a well-characterised procedural learning task- the finger tapping motor sequence task (FTT) was assessed on three sessions. Children in the typically developing group showed increased accuracy scores following a period of sleep (14% improvement) compared with wake (drop of 2%). In contrast children with Williams syndrome showed an initial improvement in accuracy on the training session, albeit slow, but their accuracy deteriorated following a period of sleep. The sleep-related decrement in performance on the procedural task may reflect sleep problems that are now well characterised in the WS group. This study demonstrated the contribution of sleep to procedural learning in typically developing children. Further studies may elucidate the reasons why similar sleep related benefits are not seen in children with Williams syndrome. Meanwhile practitioners and families should ensure that children obtain adequate sleep in order to maximise their attention readiness to learn and achieve optimum cognitive performance.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 30 October 2014
Published date: 2014
Organisations: Clinical & Experimental Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 401654
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/401654
ISSN: 2329-9282
PURE UUID: 83b26d31-0962-4e32-a325-abd841d20005
ORCID for Catherine Hill: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2372-5904

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Date deposited: 20 Oct 2016 15:53
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:01

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Contributors

Author: Dagmara Dimitriou
Author: Annette Karmiloff-Smith
Author: Anna Ashworth
Author: Catherine Hill ORCID iD

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