Procedural learning and retention of audio‐verbal temporal sequence is altered in children with developmental coordination disorder but cortical thickness matters

Abstract

Rhythmic abilities are impaired in developmental coordination disorder (DCD) but learning deficit of procedural skills implying temporal sequence is still unclear. Current contradictory results suggest that procedural learning deficits in DCD highly depend on learning conditions. The present study proposes to test the role of sensory modality of stimulations (visual or auditory) on synchronization, learning, and retention of temporal verbal sequences in children with and without DCD. We postulated a deficit in learning particularly with auditory stimulations, in association with atypical cortical thickness of three regions of interesting: sensorimotor, frontal and parietal regions. Thirty children with and without DCD (a) performed a synchronization task to a regular temporal sequence and (b) practiced and recalled a novel non-regular temporal sequences with auditory and visual modalities. They also had a magnetic resonance imaging to measure their cortical thickness. Results suggested that children with DCD presented a general deficit in synchronization of a regular temporal verbal sequence irrespective of the sensory modality, but a specific deficit in learning and retention of auditory non-regular verbal temporal sequence. Stability of audio-verbal synchronization during practice correlated with cortical thickness of the sensorimotor cortex. For the first time, our results suggest that synchronization deficits in DCD are not limited to manual tasks. This deficit persists despite repeated exposition and practice of an auditory temporal sequence, which suggests a possible alteration in audio-verbal coupling in DCD. On the contrary, control of temporal parameters with visual stimuli seems to be less affected, which opens perspectives for clinical practice. K E Y W O R D S audio-verbal coupling, motor skills disorder, procedural memory, sensorimotor synchronization, verbal responses 2 of 14 | LÊ et aL. 1 | INTRODUC TI ON Most motor activities, such as playing music, writing, dancing, etc., rely on rhythmic and timing abilities. Indeed, to acquire motor procedural skills, it is necessary to perceive sensory inputs, memorize them into a structured temporal sequence through repetitive practice, retain the sequence for a certain period, and then retrieve

The Differential Effects of Auditory and Visual Stimuli on Learning, Retention and Reactivation of a Perceptual-Motor Temporal Sequence in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder

“…They also made more errors than their TD peers. Thus, our results indicate that an overarching synchronization deficit is present in DCD, regardless of the visual and auditory modality of the stimuli, as per previous findings on auditory stimuli (Williams et al, 1992;Whitall et al, 2008;Rosenblum and Regev, 2013;Puyjarinet et al, 2017) and auditory and visual stimuli (Whitall and Clark, 2018;Lê et al, 2020). Given that SMS was also impaired for both visual and auditory stimuli when children had to respond with verbal responses (Lê et al, 2020), it is possible that the general -effector-independent and modalityindependent -deficit in SMS is possibly due to a deficit in timing perception in DCD, as proposed by Trainor et al (2018).…”

“…The children were enrolled in the DYSTAC-MAP study (ANR-13-APPR-0010). Eleven DCD and 18 TD children who passed an MRI participated in the study by Lê et al (2020) .…”

“…Regarding developmental coordination disorder (DCD), many studies have found evidence of impaired sensorimotor timing, and especially SMS, irrespective of the modality of the stimuli (auditory or visual stimuli) and the type of response (unimanual, bimanual, or verbal) ( Volman and Geuze, 1998 ; Volman et al, 2006 ; de Castelnau et al, 2007 , 2008 ; Whitall et al, 2008 ; Debrabant et al, 2013 ; Blais et al, 2017 ; Puyjarinet et al, 2017 ; Blais et al, 2018 ; Trainor et al, 2018 ; Lê et al, 2020 ). However, a recent hypothesis was postulated by Trainor et al (2018) that one core deficit of DCD could be a specific auditory timing deficit.…”

“…Regarding learning, the model by Nicolson and Fawcett (2007) predicts that procedural learning would be altered in children with DCD because of a dysfunction of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical network. However, studies investigating this issue in DCD have reported inconsistent results ( Wilson et al, 2003 ; Gheysen et al, 2011 ; Lejeune et al, 2013 ; Blais et al, 2018 ; Lê et al, 2020 ). Very recently, a specific deficit in learning and the retention of an auditory temporal non-isochronous sequence using verbal responses were found in DCD ( Lê et al, 2020 ).…”

“…However, studies investigating this issue in DCD have reported inconsistent results ( Wilson et al, 2003 ; Gheysen et al, 2011 ; Lejeune et al, 2013 ; Blais et al, 2018 ; Lê et al, 2020 ). Very recently, a specific deficit in learning and the retention of an auditory temporal non-isochronous sequence using verbal responses were found in DCD ( Lê et al, 2020 ). The deficit was less apparent for learning and the retention of a visual temporal non-isochronous sequence.…”