title: Atypical acquisition and atypical expression of memory consolidation gains in a motor skill in young female adults with ADHD.
abstract: Individuals with ADHD often show performance deficits in motor tasks. It is not clear, however, whether this reflects less effective acquisition of skill (procedural knowledge), or deficient consolidation into long-term memory, in ADHD. The aim of the study was to compare the acquisition of skilled motor performance, the expression of delayed--consolidation phase--gains and retention, in persons with and without ADHD. Thirty-two participants, 16 with ADHD, were trained on a sequence of finger movements using a well-established training protocol, and tested before training and immediately, 24h and 2 weeks after training. Both groups showed similar within-session gains in speed; additional, delayed gains were expressed at 24h, but less robustly in ADHD, and at 2 weeks post-training. However, while controls showed significant delayed gains in accuracy at 24h and 2 weeks post-training, accuracy deteriorated in ADHD from pre-training to 24h post-training and was only at pre-training levels by 2-weeks post-training. Our results demonstrate a latent memory consolidation phase in motor sequence learning, expressed as delayed gains in speed and a much delayed recovery of pre-training accuracy, in individuals with ADHD. However, both the acquisition and memory consolidation of motor skills are atypical in ADHD.
authors.affiliation: School of Education, Leslie and Susan Gonda Goldschmied Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel. japhae@mail.biu.ac.il
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adi-Japha
authors.forename: Orly
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D057567:Memory, Long-Term / Q000502:physiology; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult