Top-down Inhibitory Motor Control Is Preserved in Adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

Two paradigms were employed to disentangle information processing from executive motor inhibition in adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Choice Reaction and Stop Signal Tasks were compared between 13 adults fulfilling DSM-5 DCD criteria and 42 typically developing adults. Additional analyses included 16 probable DCD (pDCD) participants, who had motor difficulties but did not fulfil DSM-5 criteria. Analyses employed frequentist and Bayesian modeling. While DCD+pDCD showed slower reaction times and difficulty initiating Go responses, no impairments in Stop actions were found. These findings indicated no executive deficit in DCD, suggesting that previous results may be explained by inefficient information processing.

Childhood motor difficulties and cognitive impairment in midlife: A 40-year cohort study.

“…Furthermore, our study employed standardized, widely used tests of executive functions, in contrast to a recent study using a computerized assessment aimed at ecological validity but with relatively limited research on its psychometric properties (Mayes et al, 2023). As opposed to other studies (e.g., Kirby et al, 2010; Mayes et al, 2023; Tal Saban et al, 2014), we excluded participants with ADHD, based on comprehensive information gathered prospectively since birth (Schiavone et al, 2019) instead of a self-reported diagnosis (e.g., He et al, 2018; Mayes et al, 2021). Our results thus provide evidence that the impairment in executive functions associated with childhood MD may also be independent of concurrent ADHD in adults.…”

“…Furthermore, studies of cognitive impairment in adults with a history of childhood MD or with DCD have generally relied on retrospective self-reports to establish that the participants had MD already as children (Barhoun et al, 2021;He et al, 2018;Mayes et al, 2021Mayes et al, , 2023. Retrospective self-reports of childhood symptoms may, however, not be entirely accurate in neurodevelopmental disorders (von Wirth et al, 2021).…”

“…Another strength of our study is its prospective design spanning 4 decades. Studies of cognition in adults with a history of childhood MD have typically relied on cross-sectional designs with tests of motor skills conducted in adulthood and with retrospective selfreports to establish that the MD were already present in childhood (e.g., Barhoun et al, 2021;He et al, 2018;Mayes et al, 2021Mayes et al, , 2023. Our study avoids the potential sources of bias inherent in that approach, for example, the possible inaccuracy of retrospective self-reports of childhood symptoms (von Wirth et al, 2021).…”

“…In children and adolescents, impairments in several areas of executive functions are associated with MD and with DCD (Lachambre et al, 2021). Concerning processing speed, a study combining adults with MD and DCD (Mayes et al, 2021) has reported an impairment. The evidence is mixed in children with MD (Loh et al, 2011) and with DCD (Sumner et al, 2016).…”

“…The limited evidence regarding cognitive impairment in adults with a history of childhood MD is also undermined by the failure of some studies to exclude participants with ADHD or report the exclusion (Cantell et al, 2003; Mayes et al, 2023). When a study has excluded participants with ADHD, the exclusion has typically relied on the self-report of a diagnosis of ADHD (e.g., He et al, 2018; Mayes et al, 2021), thus potentially missing participants with undiagnosed ADHD. Because ADHD is associated with both cognitive deficits (Pievsky & McGrath, 2018) and MD (Kadesjö & Gillberg, 1998), not excluding participants with ADHD from a study of cognitive impairment associated with MD is prone to lead to bias.…”