Reduced procedural motor learning in deaf individuals.

Justine Lã©Vesque,Franã§Ois Champoux,Hugo Thã©Oret

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00343

Abstract

Studies in the deaf suggest that cross-modal neuroplastic changes may vary across modalities. Only a handful of studies have examined motor capacities in the profoundly deaf. These studies suggest the presence of deficits in manual dexterity and delays in movement production. As of yet, the ability to learn complex sequential motor patterns has not been explored in deaf populations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the procedural learning skills of deaf adults. A serial reaction-time task (SRTT) was performed by 18 deaf subjects and 18 matched controls to investigate possible motor alteration subsequent to auditory deprivation. Deaf participants had various degrees of hearing loss. Half of the experimental group were early deaf adults mostly using hearing aids, the remaining half were late-deaf adults using a cochlear implant (CI). Participants carried out a repeating 12-item sequence of key presses along with random blocks containing no repeating sequence. Non-specific and sequence-specific learning was analyzed in relation to individual features related to the hearing loss. The results revealed significant differences between groups in sequence-specific learning, with deaf subjects being less efficient than controls in acquiring sequence-specific knowledge. We interpret the results in light of cross-modal plasticity and the auditory scaffolding hypothesis.

Highlights

Studies in the deaf suggest that cross-modal neuroplastic changes may vary across modalities (Bavelier and Neville, 2002)
In the present study, the serial reaction-time task (SRTT) was used to investigate whether procedural motor learning differs in the deaf compared to hearing individuals
We recognize that the SRTT has both motor and perceptual learning components, we hold, in agreement with Willingham (1999) and Deroost and Soetens (2006), that the task concerns primarily motor learning

Summary

Introduction

Studies in the deaf suggest that cross-modal neuroplastic changes may vary across modalities (Bavelier and Neville, 2002). In the motor domain, Savelsbergh et al (1991) have suggested that the lack of early auditory input could contribute to the motor delays in basic motor tasks observed in deaf children. Several studies of motor capacities in deaf children have reported deficits in general dynamic coordination, visual-motor skills, balance, ball catching abilities, as well as slower reaction times and speed of movement execution (Wiegersma and Van der Velde, 1983; Savelsbergh et al, 1991; Siegel et al, 1991; Hartman et al, 2011). In deaf adults on the other hand, motor capacities have not been extensively explored, but some studies suggest normal visual-motor skills in deaf individuals who are native signers (Hauser et al, 2007). As of yet, the ability to learn complex motor sequential patterns has not been explored in deaf populations

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