title: Procedural learning, consolidation, and transfer of a new skill in Developmental Coordination Disorder.
abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the differences in procedural learning abilities between children with DCD and typically developing children by investigating the steps that lead to skill automatization (i.e., the stages of fast learning, consolidation, and slow learning). Transfer of the skill to a new situation was also assessed. We tested 34 children aged 6-12 years with and without DCD on a perceptuomotor adaptation task, a form of procedural learning that is thought to involve the cerebellum and the basal ganglia (regions whose impairment has been associated with DCD) but also other brain areas including frontal regions. The results showed similar rates of learning, consolidation, and transfer in DCD and control children. However, the DCD children's performance remained slower than that of controls throughout the procedural task and they reached a lower asymptotic performance level; the difficulties observed at the outset did not diminish with practice.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology, Behavior and Cognition , University of Liège , Liège , Belgium.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lejeune
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology, Behavior and Cognition , University of Liège , Liège , Belgium.
authors.forename: Murielle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wansard
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology, Behavior and Cognition , University of Liège , Liège , Belgium.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Geurten
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology, Behavior and Cognition , University of Liège , Liège , Belgium.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meulemans
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002531:Cerebellum; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D000069077:Memory Consolidation / Q000502:physiology*; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D013850:Thinking; D014163:Transfer, Psychology
keywords: Child; Developmental coordination disorder; Developmental disorder; Perceptuomotor adaptation; Procedural learning; Skill learning