| |
Abstract:
Previous research indicates that the basal ganglia are
responsible for habit learning, especially with regards to motor
skills. Specifically, patients with Parkinson's Disease, which
drastically reduces basal ganglia functioning, show a dramatic
impairment in motor skill acquisition in the serial reaction time
task (SRT). It has not been well distinguished, however, whether
this impairment results from the general diminished motor ability
associated with the disease or if a specific problem with pattern
acquisition exists. The present research examined perceptual
pattern acquisition in normals by removing the possibility of
sequential manual motor movements. In this way, it was possible to
determine if response-independent pattern acquisition occurs at an
implicit level. While normal young adults were able to implicitly
acquire spatial patterns, the amount of learning was not as great,
however, when compared to that of the traditional SRT task. This
suggests a difference in the neural substrates responsible for
pattern acquisition in the two types of task. This paradigm is
being currently used with Parkinson's patients and elderly controls
in an effort to determine the role played by the basal ganglia in
pattern acquisition. In this way, it is possible to determine if
basal ganglia control cognitive or spatial skill acquisition in
general when motor limitations exert a minimal influence.
|
