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Procedural learning deficits in specific language impairment (SLI): a meta-analysis of serial reaction time task performance.

ABSTRACT: Meta-analysis and meta-regression were used to evaluate whether evidence to date demonstrates deficits in procedural memory in individuals with specific language impairment (SLI), and to examine reasons for inconsistencies of findings across studies. The Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH) proposes that SLI is largely explained by abnormal functioning of the frontal-basal ganglia circuits that support procedural memory. It has also been suggested that declarative memory can compensate for at least some of the problems observed in individuals with SLI. A number of studies have used Serial Reaction Time (SRT) tasks to investigate procedural learning in SLI. In this report, results from eight studies that collectively examined 186 participants with SLI and 203 typically-developing peers were submitted to a meta-analysis. The average mean effect size was .328 (CI95: .071, .584) and was significant. This suggests SLI is associated with impairments of procedural learning as measured by the SRT task. Differences among individual study effect sizes, examined with meta-regression, indicated that smaller effect sizes were found in studies with older participants, and in studies that had a larger number of trials on the SRT task. The contributions of age and SRT task characteristics to learning are discussed with respect to impaired and compensatory neural mechanisms in SLI.

SUBMITTER: Lum JA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3989038 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Procedural learning deficits in specific language impairment (SLI): a meta-analysis of serial reaction time task performance.

Lum Jarrad A G JA Conti-Ramsden Gina G Morgan Angela T AT Ullman Michael T MT

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior 20131108

Meta-analysis and meta-regression were used to evaluate whether evidence to date demonstrates deficits in procedural memory in individuals with specific language impairment (SLI), and to examine reasons for inconsistencies of findings across studies. The Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH) proposes that SLI is largely explained by abnormal functioning of the frontal-basal ganglia circuits that support procedural memory. It has also been suggested that declarative memory can compensate for at lea ...[more]

PMID: 24315731

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Project description:Background and objectiveClinical observations indicate that implicit procedural learning, a central component of physical and psychosocial rehabilitation, is impeded following spinal cord injury. In accordance, previous research has revealed a specific deficit in implicit sequence learning among individuals with paraplegia using a standard, manual version of the serial reaction time task. To extend these findings and shed light on the underlying sources of potential spinal cord injury-related deficits in sequence learning, we used an ocular activated serial reaction time task to compare sequence learning performance between individuals with tetraplegia and healthy controls.Participants and measuresTwelve participants with spinal cord injury in C5-T1 were compared to 12 matched control participants on measures derived from an ocular activated serial reaction time task. Depression and additional cognitive measures were assessed to explore the source and specificity of potential sequence learning deficits.ResultsLike controls, and in contrast with previous findings in paraplegia, the spinal cord injury group showed intact implicit sequence learning, evidenced by declining reaction times and improved anticipation over the first six blocks of the serial reaction time task, and an advantage for the initial learning sequence over a novel interference sequence.ConclusionsThe ocular activated serial reaction time task elicited a performance pattern similar to standard motor versions, such that participants with tetraplegia demonstrated unimpaired sequence learning. This suggests that previously reported implicit sequence learning deficits in spinal cord injury directly involved motor functioning rather than cognitive aspects of the task, and that the ocular activated sequence learning task could be a valid alternative for assessing implicit sequence learning in populations that cannot perform spinal-cord dependent motor tasks. Implications for post-spinal cord injury rehabilitation and adjustment are discussed.

Project description:BackgroundThe neurochemical status and hyperactivity of mice lacking functional substance P-preferring NK1 receptors (NK1R-/-) resemble abnormalities in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Here we tested whether NK1R-/- mice express other core features of ADHD (impulsivity and inattentiveness) and, if so, whether they are diminished by d-amphetamine, as in ADHD. Prompted by evidence that circadian rhythms are disrupted in ADHD, we also compared the performance of mice that were trained and tested in the morning or afternoon.Methods and resultsThe 5-Choice Serial Reaction-Time Task (5-CSRTT) was used to evaluate the cognitive performance of NK1R-/- mice and their wildtypes. After training, animals were tested using a long (LITI) and a variable (VITI) inter-trial interval: these tests were carried out with, and without, d-amphetamine pretreatment (0.3 or 1 mg/kg i.p.). NK1R-/- mice expressed greater omissions (inattentiveness), perseveration and premature responses (impulsivity) in the 5-CSRTT. In NK1R-/- mice, perseveration in the LITI was increased by injection-stress but reduced by d-amphetamine. Omissions by NK1R-/- mice in the VITI were unaffected by d-amphetamine, but premature responses were exacerbated by this psychostimulant. Omissions in the VITI were higher, overall, in the morning than the afternoon but, in the LITI, premature responses of NK1R-/- mice were higher in the afternoon than the morning.ConclusionIn addition to locomotor hyperactivity, NK1R-/- mice express inattentiveness, perseveration and impulsivity in the 5-CSRTT, thereby matching core criteria for a model of ADHD. Because d-amphetamine reduced perseveration in NK1R-/- mice, this action does not require functional NK1R. However, the lack of any improvement of omissions and premature responses in NK1R-/- mice given d-amphetamine suggests that beneficial effects of this psychostimulant in other rodent models, and ADHD patients, need functional NK1R. Finally, our results reveal experimental variables (stimulus parameters, stress and time of day) that could influence translational studies.

Project description:BackgroundDigital neuropsychological tools for diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases in the older population are becoming more relevant and widely adopted because of their diagnostic capabilities. In this context, explicit memory is mainly examined. The assessment of implicit memory occurs to a lesser extent. A common measure for this assessment is the serial reaction time task (SRTT).ObjectiveThis study aims to develop and empirically test a digital tablet-based SRTT in older participants with cognitive impairment (CoI) and healthy control (HC) participants. On the basis of the parameters of response accuracy, reaction time, and learning curve, we measure implicit learning and compare the HC and CoI groups.MethodsA total of 45 individuals (n=27, 60% HCs and n=18, 40% participants with CoI-diagnosed by an interdisciplinary team) completed a tablet-based SRTT. They were presented with 4 blocks of stimuli in sequence and a fifth block that consisted of stimuli appearing in random order. Statistical and machine learning modeling approaches were used to investigate how healthy individuals and individuals with CoI differed in their task performance and implicit learning.ResultsLinear mixed-effects models showed that individuals with CoI had significantly higher error rates (b=-3.64, SE 0.86; z=-4.25; P<.001); higher reaction times (F1,41=22.32; P<.001); and lower implicit learning, measured via the response increase between sequence blocks and the random block (β=-0.34; SE 0.12; t=-2.81; P=.007). Furthermore, machine learning models based on these findings were able to reliably and accurately predict whether an individual was in the HC or CoI group, with an average prediction accuracy of 77.13% (95% CI 74.67%-81.33%).ConclusionsOur results showed that the HC and CoI groups differed substantially in their performance in the SRTT. This highlights the promising potential of implicit learning paradigms in the detection of CoI. The short testing paradigm based on these results is easy to use in clinical practice.

Dataset Information

Procedural learning deficits in specific language impairment (SLI): a meta-analysis of serial reaction time task performance.

Publications

Procedural learning deficits in specific language impairment (SLI): a meta-analysis of serial reaction time task performance.

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