Cognitive Procedural Learning Research Articles

Research on the contribution of REM sleep to procedural learning

Many studies have confirmed the contribution of sleep to memory consolidation. However, the benefit of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep on memory consolidation remains debatable due to discrepant findings. This paper reviewed the latest human studies that employed complex cognitive procedural learning tasks and new learning techniques, including metacognition stimulation and targeted memory reaction (TMR), to provide evidence on the correlation between REM sleep and memory consolidation of procedural learning. Next, the main hypotheses aiming to explain its underlying neurobiological mechanisms were summarized, with a discussion about the striatum's role, the cholinergic system's activity, and synaptic plasticity during REM sleep. Finally, the paper discussed potential reasons for data inconsistency and several aspects that should be considered in future sleep and memory research.

Procedural learning: A developmental study of motor sequence learning and probabilistic classification learning in school-aged children

In this study, we investigated motor and cognitive procedural learning in typically developing children aged 8–12 years with a serial reaction time (SRT) task and a probabilistic classification learning (PCL) task. The aims were to replicate and extend the results of previous SRT studies, to investigate PCL in school-aged children, to explore the contribution of declarative knowledge to SRT and PCL performance, to explore the strategies used by children in the PCL task via a mathematical model, and to see whether performances obtained in motor and cognitive tasks correlated. The results showed similar learning effects in the three age groups in the SRT and in the first half of the PCL tasks. Participants did not develop explicit knowledge in the SRT task whereas declarative knowledge of the cue–outcome associations correlated with the performances in the second half of the PCL task, suggesting a participation of explicit knowledge after some time of exposure in PCL. An increasing proportion of the optimal strategy use with increasing age was observed in the PCL task. Finally, no correlation appeared between cognitive and motor performance. In conclusion, we extended the hypothesis of age invariance from motor to cognitive procedural learning, which had not been done previously. The ability to adopt more efficient learning strategies with age may rely on the maturation of the fronto-striatal loops. The lack of correlation between performance in the SRT task and the first part of the PCL task suggests dissociable developmental trajectories within the procedural memory system.

Brain structural substrates of cognitive procedural learning in alcoholic patients early in abstinence.

Procedural learning allows for the acquisition of new behavioral skills. Previous studies have shown that chronic alcoholism is characterized by impaired cognitive procedural learning and brain abnormalities affecting regions that are involved in the automation of new cognitive procedures in healthy individuals. The goal of the present study was to investigate the brain structural substrates of cognitive procedural learning in alcoholic patients (ALs) early in abstinence. Thirty-one ALs and 31 control participants (NCs) performed the Tower of Toronto task (4 daily learning sessions, each comprising 10 trials) to assess cognitive procedural learning. We also assessed episodic and working memory, executive functions, and visuospatial abilities. ALs underwent 1.5T structural magnetic resonance imaging. The initial cognitive phase was longer in the AL group than in the NC group, whereas the autonomous phase was shorter. In ALs, the longer cognitive phase was predicted by poorer planning and visuospatial working memory abilities, and by smaller gray matter (GM) volumes in the angular gyrus and caudate nucleus. ALs' planning abilities correlated with smaller GM volume in the angular gyrus. Cognitive procedural learning was impaired in ALs, with a delayed transition from the cognitive to the autonomous phase. This slowdown in the automation of the cognitive procedure was related to lower planning abilities, which may have hampered the initial generation of the procedure to be learned. In agreement with this neuropsychological finding, a persistent relationship was found between learning performance and the GM volumes of the angular gyrus and caudate nucleus, which are usually regarded as markers of planning and initial learning of the cognitive procedure.

Cognitive procedural learning among children and adolescents with or without spastic cerebral palsy: the differential effect of age.

Children learn to engage their surroundings skillfully, adopting implicit knowledge of complex regularities and associations. Probabilistic classification learning (PCL) is a type of cognitive procedural learning in which different cues are probabilistically associated with specific outcomes. Little is known about the effects of developmental disorders on cognitive skill acquisition. Twenty-four children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) were compared to 24 typically developing (TD) youth in their ability to learn probabilistic associations. Performance was examined in relation to general cognitive abilities, level of motor impairment and age. Improvement in PCL was observed for all participants, with no relation to IQ. An age effect was found only among TD children. Learning curves of children with CP on a cognitive procedural learning task differ from those of TD peers and do not appear to be age sensitive.

Dynamics of the Cognitive Procedural Learning in Alcoholics with Korsakoff's Syndrome

While procedures acquired before the development of amnesia are likely to be preserved in alcoholic patients with Korsakoff's syndrome, the ability of Korsakoff patients (KS) to learn new cognitive procedures is called in question. According to the Adaptive Control of Thoughts model, learning a new cognitive procedure requires highly controlled processes in the initial cognitive phase, which may be difficult for KS with episodic and working memory deficits. The goals of the present study were to examine the learning dynamics of KS compared with uncomplicated alcoholic patients (AL) and control subjects (CS) and to determine the contribution of episodic and working memory abilities in cognitive procedural learning performance. Fourteen KS, 15 AL, and 15 CS were submitted to 40 trials (4 daily learning sessions) of the Tower of Toronto task (disk-transfer task similar to the tower of Hanoi task) as well as episodic and working memory tasks. The 10 KS who were able to perform the cognitive procedural learning task obtained lower results than both CS and AL. The cognitive phase was longer in the Korsakoff's syndrome group than in the other 2 groups but did not differ between the 3 groups any more when episodic memory abilities were controlled. Our results indicate that KS have impaired cognitive procedural learning abilities compared with both AL and CS. Episodic memory deficits observed in KS result in a delayed transition from the cognitive learning phase to more advanced learning phases and, as a consequence, in an absence of automation of the procedure within 40 trials.

Cognitive procedural learning in early Alzheimer's disease: Impaired processes and compensatory mechanisms

The aim of this study was to study cognitive procedural learning in early Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cognitive procedural learning was assessed using the Tower of Hanoi (TH) task. In order to take account of possible interactions between different systems during cognitive procedural learning, we also measured non-verbal intellectual functions, working memory, and declarative memory. Our results showed an apparent preservation of cognitive procedural learning in AD and a deleterious effect of the disease on verbal intelligence and declarative memory. Correlational analyses revealed a difference between AD patients and control participants in the type of processing they applied to the task. The non-involvement of declarative memory would appear to be partly responsible for a slowdown in the cognitive procedural dynamics of AD patients. As the AD patients were unable to use their declarative memory, they were still in a problem-solving mode at the end of the learning protocol and had to implement higher order cognitive processes (i.e., compensatory mechanisms) to perform the procedural task.

The relationships between cognitive aging and strategic variations in the cognitive procedural learning: an fMRI study

Event Abstract Back to Event The relationships between cognitive aging and strategic variations in the cognitive procedural learning: an fMRI study Gandini Delphine1, 2*, Eric Bertasi3, Benjamín Boller4, Philippe Fossati5 and Anne-Marie Ergis4 1 Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM),, Canada 2 Centre de Recherche en Neuropsychologie et Cognition (CERNEC), Canada 3 Centre de Neuro-imagerie de Recherche (CENIR), France 4 Laboratoire de Psychologie et Neuropsychologie Cognitives (LPNCog), FRE 3292, CNRS, Université Paris Descartes, France 5 Centre Émotion, USR 3246, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, France The ACT* theory postulates that cognitive skill learning comprises three main stages: cognitive, associative, and autonomous. During aging, learning is slowed but the sequence of each stage is spared. The present study addressed the roles of strategy variations and aging in procedural learning, at the behavioral and cerebral levels. We hypothesized that the strategic variability observed in the declarative stage could be responsible for cognitive learning slowing during aging. Moreover, this variability may explain the frequently observed difference in cerebral activations between young and older adults in cognitive learning tasks. Thirteen young adults and 12 older participants were tested in three experimental sessions: (1) a pretraining session (first fMRI scanning), (2) two behavioral learning sessions, and (3) a posttraining session (second fMRI scanning). The task used for the cognitive learning was an adapted version of the Tower of Hanoi. Results showed that the two age groups were comparable in the mean number of moves during the pre- and posttraining sessions, but older participants made more unwarranted moves and backward moves than younger ones. In addition, older adults more frequently used mixed perceptual strategies and mixed strategies (based on planning and perception) than did young adults. During the pretesting session, older adults exhibited distributed activation in right-lateralized cerebral network, including occipito-temporal and parietal areas whereas young adults activated the same regions but bilaterally. The same pattern of differences was found in the posttraining session whereas the two age groups reached the autonomous stage. Results will be further discussed regarding literature on cognitive neuroscience of aging and strategic variations. Keywords: Aging, fMRI Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Cognitive Aging Citation: Delphine G, Bertasi E, Boller B, Fossati P and Ergis A (2011). The relationships between cognitive aging and strategic variations in the cognitive procedural learning: an fMRI study. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00611 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 15 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Gandini Delphine, Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM),, Montreal, Canada, delphine.gandini@umontreal.ca Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Gandini Delphine Eric Bertasi Benjamín Boller Philippe Fossati Anne-Marie Ergis Google Gandini Delphine Eric Bertasi Benjamín Boller Philippe Fossati Anne-Marie Ergis Google Scholar Gandini Delphine Eric Bertasi Benjamín Boller Philippe Fossati Anne-Marie Ergis PubMed Gandini Delphine Eric Bertasi Benjamín Boller Philippe Fossati Anne-Marie Ergis Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Visuo-motor and cognitive procedural learning in children with basal ganglia pathology

We investigated procedural learning in 18 children with basal ganglia (BG) lesions or dysfunctions of various aetiologies, using a visuo-motor learning test, the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task, and a cognitive learning test, the Probabilistic Classification Learning (PCL) task. We compared patients with early (<1 year old, n = 9), later onset (>6 years old, n = 7) or progressive disorder (idiopathic dystonia, n = 2). All patients showed deficits in both visuo-motor and cognitive domains, except those with idiopathic dystonia, who displayed preserved classification learning skills. Impairments seem to be independent from the age of onset of pathology. As far as we know, this study is the first to investigate motor and cognitive procedural learning in children with BG damage. Procedural impairments were documented whatever the aetiology of the BG damage/dysfunction and time of pathology onset, thus supporting the claim of very early skill learning development and lack of plasticity in case of damage.

Episodic memory deficits slow down the dynamics of cognitive procedural learning in normal ageing

Cognitive procedural learning is characterised by three phases, each involving distinct processes. Considering the implication of episodic memory in the first cognitive stage, the impairment of this memory system might be responsible for a slowing down of the cognitive procedural learning dynamics in the course of ageing. Performances of massed cognitive procedural learning were evaluated in older and younger participants using the Tower of Toronto task. Nonverbal intelligence and psychomotor abilities were used to analyse procedural dynamics, while episodic memory and working memory were assessed to measure their respective contributions to learning strategies. This experiment showed that older participants did not spontaneously invoke episodic memory and presented a slowdown in the cognitive procedural learning associated with a late involvement of working memory. These findings suggest that the slowdown in the cognitive procedural learning may be linked with the implementation of different learning strategies less involving episodic memory in older participants.

Age‐related changes in the cerebral substrates of cognitive procedural learning

Cognitive procedural learning occurs in three qualitatively different phases (cognitive, associative, and autonomous). At the beginning of this process, numerous cognitive functions are involved, subtended by distinct brain structures such as the prefrontal and parietal cortex and the cerebellum. As the learning progresses, these cognitive components are gradually replaced by psychomotor abilities, reflected by the increasing involvement of the cerebellum, thalamus, and occipital regions. In elderly subjects, although cognitive studies have revealed a learning effect, performance levels differ during the acquisition of a procedure. The effects of age on the learning of a cognitive procedure have not yet been examined using functional imaging. The aim of this study was therefore to characterize the cerebral substrates involved in the learning of a cognitive procedure, comparing a group of older subjects with young controls. For this purpose, we performed a positron emission tomography activation study using the Tower of Toronto task. A direct comparison of the two groups revealed the involvement of a similar network of brain regions at the beginning of learning (cognitive phase). However, the engagement of frontal and cingulate regions persisted in the older group as learning continued, whereas it ceased in the younger controls. We assume that this additional activation in the older group during the associative and autonomous phases reflected compensatory processes and the fact that some older subjects failed to fully automate the procedure.

Instructor Based Training versus Computer Based Training—A Comparative Study

This article describes two studies conducted to compare assembly performance and learning rate between computer based training and traditional training of skilled assembly operators. The studies were performed with pre-series production parts from a car cockpit and they were integrated as part of the overall training activities during a new vehicle product launch. The computer based training tool used was a desktop based commercial VR tool with focus on cognitive interactive procedural learning. Both studies indicate that computer based training can replace instructor based training for this level of assembly complexity and that it has a positive effect in preparing skilled operators.

The dynamic network subserving the three phases of cognitive procedural learning

Cognitive procedural learning is characterized by three phases (cognitive, associative, and autonomous), each involving distinct processes. We performed a behavioral study and a positron emission tomography (PET) activation study using the Tower of Toronto task. The aim of the behavioral study was to determine cognitive predictors for the length of each of the three learning phases, in order to preselect subjects for the PET study. The objective of the second study was to describe the cerebral substrates subtending these three phases. Contrasted with a reference (motor) task, the cognitive phase activated the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, and parietal regions, all of which became less active as learning progressed. The associative phase was characterized by the activation of the occipital regions, right thalamus, and caudate nucleus. During the autonomous phase, new regions were involved, including the left thalamus and an anterior part of the cerebellum. These results, by employing a direct comparison between phases, provide the first evidence of the involvement and the time course of activation of different regions in each learning phase, in accordance with current models of cognitive procedural learning. The involvement of a frontoparietal network suggests the use of strategies in problem solving during the cognitive phase. The involvement of the occipital regions during the associative and autonomous phase suggests the intervention of mental imagery. Lastly, the activation of the cerebellum during the autonomous phase is consistent with the fact that performance in this phase is determined by psychomotor abilities.

Effect of Episodic and Working Memory Impairments on Semantic and Cognitive Procedural Learning at Alcohol Treatment Entry

Chronic alcoholism is known to impair the functioning of episodic and working memory, which may consequently reduce the ability to learn complex novel information. Nevertheless, semantic and cognitive procedural learning have not been properly explored at alcohol treatment entry, despite its potential clinical relevance. The goal of the present study was therefore to determine whether alcoholic patients, immediately after the weaning phase, are cognitively able to acquire complex new knowledge, given their episodic and working memory deficits. Twenty alcoholic inpatients with episodic memory and working memory deficits at alcohol treatment entry and a control group of 20 healthy subjects underwent a protocol of semantic acquisition and cognitive procedural learning. The semantic learning task consisted of the acquisition of 10 novel concepts, while subjects were administered the Tower of Toronto task to measure cognitive procedural learning. Analyses showed that although alcoholic subjects were able to acquire the category and features of the semantic concepts, albeit slowly, they presented impaired label learning. In the control group, executive functions and episodic memory predicted semantic learning in the first and second halves of the protocol, respectively. In addition to the cognitive processes involved in the learning strategies invoked by controls, alcoholic subjects seem to attempt to compensate for their impaired cognitive functions, invoking capacities of short-term passive storage. Regarding cognitive procedural learning, although the patients eventually achieved the same results as the controls, they failed to automate the procedure. Contrary to the control group, the alcoholic groups' learning performance was predicted by controlled cognitive functions throughout the protocol. At alcohol treatment entry, alcoholic patients with neuropsychological deficits have difficulty acquiring novel semantic and cognitive procedural knowledge. Compared with controls, they seem to use more costly learning strategies, which are nonetheless less efficient. These learning disabilities need to be considered when treatment requiring the acquisition of complex novel information is envisaged.

Which processes are involved in cognitive procedural learning?

Procedural memory is characterised by a relative resistance to pathology, making its assessment of the utmost importance. However, few studies have looked at the cognitive processes involved in cognitive procedural learning. In an initial experiment, we studied the role of different cognitive functions in massed cognitive procedural learning. Our results confirmed the existence of three separate learning phases and, for the first time, demonstrated the involvement of episodic memory and executive functions in the first learning phase. In a second experiment, we studied the effect of distributed learning conditions on the dynamics of procedural learning. This second study confirmed our results but showed that these conditions slow down the process of cognitive procedural learning. Our overall findings call into question the status of functionally autonomous memory system that is currently allotted to procedural memory, and suggest that the role of nonprocedural cognitive components should be taken into account in patient rehabilitation.

By Carrot or by Stick: Cognitive Reinforcement Learning in Parkinsonism

To what extent do we learn from the positive versus negative outcomes of our decisions? The neuromodulator dopamine plays a key role in these reinforcement learning processes. Patients with Parkinson's disease, who have depleted dopamine in the basal ganglia, are impaired in tasks that require learning from trial and error. Here, we show, using two cognitive procedural learning tasks, that Parkinson's patients off medication are better at learning to avoid choices that lead to negative outcomes than they are at learning from positive outcomes. Dopamine medication reverses this bias, making patients more sensitive to positive than negative outcomes. This pattern was predicted by our biologically based computational model of basal ganglia-dopamine interactions in cognition, which has separate pathways for "Go" and "NoGo" responses that are differentially modulated by positive and negative reinforcement.

Declarative and Procedural Learning in Individuals With Subclinical Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

Previous neuropsychological research suggests that psychometrically defined subclinical obsessive-compulsive (OC) individuals perform worse than non-OC controls on specific tests of executive functioning. This study aimed to extend these findings by comparing the performance of 25 subclinical OC and 28 non-OC control subjects on measures of declarative learning (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test), motor procedural learning (star maze), spatial problem solving (single administration of the 3-disk version of the Tower of Hanoi; TH3), and “cognitive” procedural learning (repeated administrations of the 4-disk version of the Tower of Hanoi; TH4). In addition, the subjects were administered measures of general intelligence, anxiety and depression. No between-group differences were observed on measures of declarative and motor procedural learning. Subclinical OC subjects needed significantly more moves than controls to solve TH3, suggesting poorer spatial problem solving ability. A significant group × trial interaction on the TH4 suggested reduced cognitive skill acquisition in the subclinical OC group. However, performance on TH3 and TH4 was significantly correlated in the OC group but not in the control group, suggesting that the suboptimal acquisition of cognitive skills among subclinical OC subjects is more likely to be related to inefficient spatial problem solving strategies than to a cognitive procedural learning deficit per se. These results replicate and expand upon previous findings and support a dimensional model of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Cognitive procedural learning in patients with fronto-striatal lesions.

Previous studies on the role of prefronto-striatal loop systems for cognitive procedural learning (PL) brought inconsistent results. To examine whether the integrity of the dorsolateral prefrontal loop is indispensable for normal cognitive PL, we examined the acquisition of cognitive skills in 35 patients with focal prefrontal lesions, focal caudate lesions, and Huntington's Disease (HD), and compared it with a control group. To examine the potential role of the processing demands made by the cognitive tasks, a set of tasks was applied whose acquisition places demand either on reasoning and problem solving, or on the establishment of fast and repetitive processing routines. The Pursuit Rotor task was also studied with the aim to re-examine earlier findings of a functional segregation of motor and complex prefronto-striatal loops. Deficits of cognitive and motor PL were found to be limited to certain tasks and groups. PL of one task, which demanded rapid, repetitive processing of visuo-spatial stimuli, was impaired in all patient groups. PL of two problem-solving tasks was impaired in patients with focal and degenerative caudate lesions only. None of the groups was impaired at PL of Mirror Reading, another task demanding rapid and repetitive visuo-spatial processing, and none was impaired in a fifth task of language skill. Deficits of motor learning were only observed in patients in whom the motor loop was affected. These results suggest that the dorsolateral prefronto-striatal loop is involved in the establishment of cognitive processing routines. The comparison of patients with and without caudate lesions suggests that disconnection of this circuit is critical. However, the normal acquisition of two cognitive tasks even in this group indicates that the integrity of the dorsolateral prefrontal loop is not mandatory for normal cognitive PL. We discuss these dissociations with regard to the demand profiles of the applied tasks and the locations of the lesions.

The Assessment of Cognitive Procedural Learning in Amnesia: Why the Tower of Hanoi Has Fallen Down

The Tower of Hanoi has been widely accepted as an evaluation of cognitive procedural learning in amnesia but inconsistent findings have raised questions about the nature of the learning process involved in this task. This article presents the performance of a hippocampal amnesic, MS, who, showing poor learning across daily sessions of a formal evaluation, subsequently solved the puzzle through spontaneous use of a declarative-level strategy (the odd–even rule), suggesting that his primary approach to the task was the deployment of declarative solution-searching strategies. The presented data suggest normal learning within daily sessions, but subnormal learning across daily sessions due to the forgetting of acquired declarative information. It is suggested that tasks that are potentially solvable by an algorithm or rule, as is the Tower of Hanoi, be regarded as inappropriate for use in cognitive procedural assessments.

Caudate nucleus involvement in the early stages of cognitive procedural learning

Caudate nucleus involvement in the early stages of cognitive procedural learning

Cognitive Procedural Learning in Amnesia

This group study examined the role of residual declarative memory and task-specific cognitive abilities for cognitive procedural learning in amnesia. 20 amnesic patients and 40 control subjects were studied, using four new cognitive tasks, as well as the Tower of Hanoi and a Mirror Reading task. On the cognitive tasks, but not on Mirror Reading, the learning of amnesic patients was significantly impaired relative to controls. Between- and within-group differences in learning were found to be statistically related to cognitive abilities that are involved in the processing of the procedural tasks. In amnesic patients, significant effects of residual declarative memory on learning scores were not observed, but there was indirect evidence for a role of memory in two tasks. The analysis of the correlative relationship between absolute procedural task performances and cognitive abilities indicated a prolonged dependence on nonspecific intellectual abilities in amnesic patients, suggesting a retarded transition to more advanced stages of skill acquisition.