Visuomotor skill learning in young adults with Down syndrome

Abstract

Background: Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have impaired general motor skills compared to typically developed (TD) individuals. Aims: To gain knowledge on how young adults with DS learn and retain new motor skills. Methods and Procedures: A DS-group (mean age = 23.9 +/- 3 years, N = 11), and an age-matched TD-group (mean age 22.8 +/- 1.8, N= 14) were recruited. The participants practiced a sequence visuomotor accuracy tracking task (VATT). Online and offline effects of practice were assessed in immediate and 7-day retention tests. Participants practiced the task in seven blocks (10.6 minutes). Outcomes and Results: The TD-group performed better than the DS-group in all blocks (all P < 0.001). Both groups improved VATT-performance online from baseline to immediate retention (all P < 0.001). The DS-groups' performance at 7-day retention was at the same level as the immediate retention tests (ΔDS). An offline decrease in performance was found in the TD-group (ΔTD, P < 0.001). A between-group difference was observed in the offline effect on the sequence task (ΔTD - ΔDS, P = 0.04). Conclusions and Implications: The motor performance of adults with DS is lower compared to their TD peers. However, adults with DS display significant online performance improvement during training, and offline consolidation following motor learning.