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Abstract:
Cognitive neuroscientists have demonstrated intriguing
dissociations between explicit and implicit learning. While
explicit processes depend upon medial temporal lobe structures,
research suggests that implicit learning may require the integrity
of basal ganglia thalamocortical circuits. In the current study, we
used a serial reaction time task to examine implicit learning in
children with presumed damage to the basal ganglia, specifically,
children who suffered perinatal intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH).
Participants included 10 children with moderate to severe neonatal
hemorrhages, 18 children with mild hemorrhages, and 15 children
with no history of perinatal complications. Children performed a
four-location serial reaction time task including both random and
sequenced trials. Preliminary analyses suggest that children with a
history of IVH have slower reaction times overall, however, all
groups demonstrated some reaction time improvement during the
sequence trials. In addition, children with moderate to severe IVH
showed significantly less sequence specific learning than children
with mild or no history of hemorrhage (F(2, 40)=4.24, p<0.05).
This group difference was not due to simple motor impairment since
the IVH groups demonstrated equivalent motor performance at the end
of the task. Taken individually, other significant perinatal
complications did not appear to predict implicit learning in this
sample. These results provide additional support for the role of
basal ganglia structures in implicit motor sequence
learning.
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