Learning In Adults Research Articles

Deficits of Learning in Procedural Memory and Consolidation in Declarative Memory in Adults With Developmental Language Disorder.

Purpose This study examined procedural and declarative learning and consolidation abilities in adults with developmental language disorder (DLD) relative to their typical language (TD) peers. Method A total of 100 young adults (age 18-24 years) with (n = 21) and without (n = 79) DLD participated across two sites. Performance measures on a recognition memory task and a serial reaction time task were used to assess declarative and procedural memory, respectively. Performance was measured shortly after learning (8 a.m.) and again after a 12-hr, overnight delay (8 a.m.). Results Linear mixed-effects modeling was used to examine the effects of time and group membership on task performance. For the serial reaction time task, there were significant effects of group (TD > DLD) and time (Day 1 > Day 2), but no interaction between them. For the recognition memory task, there was a significant interaction between group and time, driven by overnight gains in the TD group, combined with stable performance across days by those with DLD. Conclusions In procedural memory, adults with DLD demonstrate a learning deficit relative to adults without DLD, but appear to have comparable retention of learned information. In declarative memory, adults with DLD demonstrate a deficit in the overnight enhancement of memory retrieval, despite typical-like learning exhibited when tested shortly after encoding. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13626485.

Evidence for associations between Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure test and motor skill learning in older adults

Age-related declines in motor learning may be related to poor visuospatial function. Thus, visuospatial testing could evaluate older adults' potential for motor learning, which has implications for geriatric motor rehabilitation. To this end, the purpose of this study was to identify which visuospatial test is most predictive of motor learning within older adults. Forty-five nondemented older adults completed six standardized visuospatial tests, followed by three weekly practice sessions on a functional upper-extremity motor task. Participants were re-tested 1 month later on the trained task and another untrained upper-extremity motor task to evaluate the durability and generalizability of motor learning, respectively. Principal component analysis first reduced the dimensions of the visuospatial battery to two principal components for inclusion in a mixed-effects model that assessed one-month follow-up performance as a function of baseline performance and the principal components. Of the two components, only one was related to one-month follow-up. Factor loadings and post hoc analyses suggested that of the six visuospatial tests, the Rey-Osterrieth test (visual construction and memory) was related to one-month follow-up of the trained and untrained tasks. Thus, it may be plausible that older adults' long-term motor learning capacity could be evaluated using the Rey-Osterrieth test, which would be feasible to administer prior to motor rehabilitation to indicate risk of non-responsiveness to therapy.

Experiences of Social Distancing During Coronavirus Disease 2019 as a Catalyst for Changing Long-Term Care Culture.

Purpose In this article, we draw a parallel between the experience of social isolation that occurred throughout the world during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic and similar experiences occurring in everyday life for people with communication disorders living in long-term care (LTC) facilities. We propose that speech-language pathologists can use the widespread experience of social isolation as a learning catalyst in the effort to shift the LTC culture to one that more highly values a communicative environment that is accessible to all, thereby reducing risk of social isolation for those with communication disorders. Conclusions Many training paradigms for promoting an accessible communicative environment are available in the speech-language pathology literature, yet institutional barriers exist for their widespread implementation. Overcoming these barriers is a challenge that requires awareness and learning on the part of staff and administration regarding the impact of an unfriendly communicative environment on social isolation, and the resulting psychosocial consequences. Learning theory indicates that new learning in adults is motivated by connections between personal experiences and the material to be learned. Explicitly infusing established training programs with the experience of social isolation brought on by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic may be the key needed for changing the communicative environment in LTC.

Supplemental Material for Should I Keep Studying? Consequences of a Decision to Stop Learning in Young and Older Adults

Supplemental Material for Should I Keep Studying? Consequences of a Decision to Stop Learning in Young and Older Adults

Electrocardiographic Machine Learning to Predict Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in Asian Young Male Adults

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) occurs at the initial stage of heart failure. Electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria and machine learning for ECG features have been applied to predict LVDD in middle- and old-aged individuals. The purpose of this study is to clarify the performance of machine learning in young adults. Three machine learning classifiers including random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM) and gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) for the input of 26 ECG features with or without 6 other biological features (age, anthropometrics and blood pressures) are compared with the corrected QT (QTc) interval, a traditional ECG criterion for LVDD. The definition of LVDD is based on either one of the following echocardiographic criteria: (1) an E/A ratio of mitral inflow 14. The best areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were observed in machine learning of the RF for ECG only (84.1%) and of the SVM for all ECG and biological features (82.1%), both of which were superior to the QTc interval (64.6%). If the specificity is chosen to be approximately 75.0%, the sensitivity of the RF for ECG only reaches 81.0% and that of the SVM for all ECG and biological features is raised to 85.7%, both of which are higher than 47.6% by the QTc interval. This study suggests that using machine learning for ECG features only or with other biological features to predict LVDD in young Asian adults is reliable. The proposed methods provide for the early detection of LVDD for young adults and are helpful for taking preventive action on heart failure.

Test breve de memoria visuoespacial-revisado: normalización y estandarización de la prueba en población española

The brief visuospatial memory test-revised (BVMT-R) assesses visuospatial learning and memory in adults. It has equivalent forms that allow reassessing patients. To obtain normative and standardized data for the BVMT-R taking into account the sociodemographic characteristics of the Spanish population. The present study is part of the Normacog Project. Nine hundred three participants (18 to 93 years old) were assessed using the BVMT-R (form 1). The effect of age, level of education and gender was analyzed on the BVMT-R, and percentiles and scalar scores adjusted by age and level of education were created. A significant effect of age and educational level on the analyzed variables was observed (trial 1; total recall; trial 4; discrimination index), explaining from 12% to 40% of the variance. The older and less educated participants obtained lower performance in all the analyzed variables of the BVMT-R. Gender had not a significant effect in the analyzed variables. The study provides standardized and normalized data for the BVMT-R taking into account the Spanish sociodemographic characteristics. The results confirm the in?uence of age and level of education in the performance of the test, so normative data are provided to correct the BVMT-R taking into account these characteristics.

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Motor Function in Children 8-12 Years With Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background and objectives: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental motor disorder occurring in 5-6% of school-aged children. It is suggested that children with DCD show deficits in motor learning. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) enhances motor learning in adults and children but is unstudied in DCD. We aimed to investigate if tDCS, paired with motor skill training, facilitates motor learning in a pediatric sample with DCD.Methods: Twenty-eight children with diagnosed DCD (22 males, mean age: 10.62 ± 1.44 years) were randomized and placed into a treatment or sham group. Anodal tDCS was applied (1 mA, 20 min) in conjunction with fine manual training over 5 consecutive days. Children's motor functioning was assessed with the Purdue Pegboard Test and Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test at baseline, post-intervention and 6 weeks following intervention. Group differences in rates of motor learning and skill transfer/retention were examined using linear mixed modeling and repeated measures ANOVAs, respectively.Results: There were no serious adverse events or drop-outs and procedures were well-tolerated. Independent of group, all participants demonstrated improved motor scores over the 5 training days [F(69.280), p < 0.001, 95% CI (0.152, 0.376)], with no skill decay observed at retention. There was no interaction between intervention group and day [F(2.998), p = 0.086, 95% CI (−0.020, 0.297)].Conclusion: Children with DCD demonstrate motor learning with long-term retention of acquired skill. Motor cortex tDCS did not enhance motor learning as seen in other populations. Before conclusions of tDCS efficacy can be drawn, additional carefully designed trials with reproducible results are required.Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03453983

Learning and developing over the life-course: A sociocultural approach

This article introduces the special issue “Learning and Developing over the Life-Course: A Sociocultural Approach”, which collects six papers stemming from the project “Ages for Learning and Growth: Sociocultural Perspectives” (AGILE), supported by the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction. Considering that sociocultural psychology has mainly focused on development and learning in children, adolescents or (young) adults, AGILE aims at exploring learning and development in older people's lives. To do so, theoretical concepts and methodological tools used in research on other developmental periods had to be reconfigured and enlarged. The article first presents the main theoretical and methodological assumptions underlying sociocultural psychology, and shows the challenges of applying them to older people. Each of the six papers (by Aleksander Baucal, Michèle Grossen, Pernille Hviid, Kyoko Murakami, Roger Säljö, Fabienne Tarrago Salamin, Isabelle Tournier and Tania Zittoun) is then briefly introduced. In conclusion, the article emphasises the importance of accounting for the situatedness of older persons' activities, the meaning they give to these, and their experience of ageing. Methodologies that recognise the expertise of the persons participating in a study, and include them as active participants, are also called for.

Age-dependent statistical learning trajectories reveal differences in information weighting.

Statistical learning (SL) is the ability to generate predictions based on probabilistic dependencies in the environment, an ability that is present throughout life. The effect of aging on SL is still unclear. Here, we explore statistical learning in healthy adults (40 younger and 40 older). The novel paradigm tracks learning trajectories and shows age-related differences in overall performance, yet similarities in learning rates. Bayesian models reveal further differences between younger and older adults in dealing with uncertainty in this probabilistic SL task. We test computational models of 3 different learning strategies: (a) Win-Stay, Lose-Shift, (b) Delta Rule Learning, (c) Information Weights to explore whether they capture age-related differences in performance and learning in the present task. A likely candidate mechanism emerges in the form of age-dependent differences in information weights, in which young adults more readily change their behavior, but also show disproportionally strong reactions toward erroneous predictions. With lower but more balanced information weights, older adults show slower behavioral adaptation but eventually arrive at more stable and accurate representations of the underlying transitional probability matrix. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Motor Skill Learning-Induced Functional Plasticity in the Primary Somatosensory Cortex: A Comparison Between Young and Older Adults

While in young adults (YAs) the underlying neural mechanisms of motor learning are well-studied, studies on the involvement of the somatosensory system during motor skill learning in older adults (OAs) remain sparse. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate motor learning-induced neuroplasticity in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in YAs and OAs. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) were used to quantify somatosensory activation prior and immediately after motor skill learning in 20 right-handed healthy YAs (age range: 19–35 years) and OAs (age range: 57–76 years). Participants underwent a single session of a 30-min co-contraction task of the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and deltoid muscle. To assess the effect of motor learning, muscle onset asynchrony (MOA) between the onsets of the contractions of both muscles was measured using electromyography monitoring. In both groups, MOA shortened significantly during motor learning, with YAs showing bigger reductions. No changes were found in SEP amplitudes after motor learning in both groups. However, a correlation analysis revealed an association between baseline SEP amplitudes of the N20/P25 and N30 SEP component and the motor learning slope in YAs such that higher amplitudes are related to higher learning. Hence, the present findings suggest that SEP amplitudes might serve as a predictor of individual motor learning success, at least in YAs. Additionally, our results suggest that OAs are still capable of learning complex motor tasks, showing the importance of motor training in higher age to remain an active part of our society as a prevention for care dependency.

Remote Ecological Momentary Testing of Learning and Memory in Adults With Serious Mental Illness.

Smartphone-based ecological mobile cognitive tests (EMCTs) can measure cognitive abilities in the real world, complementing traditional neuropsychological assessments. We evaluated the validity of an EMCT of recognition memory designed for use with people with serious mental illness, as well as relevant contextual influences on performance. Participants with schizophrenia (SZ), schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder (BD) completed in-lab assessments of memory (Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, HVLT), other cognitive abilities, functional capacity, and symptoms, followed by 30 days of EMCTs during which they completed our Mobile Variable Difficulty List Memory Test (VLMT) once every other day (3 trials per session). List length on the VLMT altered between 6, 12, and 18 items. On average, participants completed 75.3% of EMCTs. Overall performance on VLMT 12 and 18 items was positively correlated with HVLT (ρ = 0.52, P < .001). People with BD performed better on the VLMT than people with SZ. Intraindividual variability on the VLMT was more specifically associated with HVLT than nonmemory tests and not associated with symptoms. Performance during experienced distraction, low effort, and out of the home location was reduced yet still correlated with the in-lab HVLT. The VLMT converged with in-lab memory assessment, demonstrating variability within person and by different contexts. Ambulatory cognitive testing on participants' personal mobile devices offers more a cost-effective and "ecologically valid" measurement of real-world cognitive performance.

Evaluation of the feasibility of an error-minimized approach to powered wheelchair skills training using shared control

Background Powered wheelchairs promote participation for people with mobility limitations. For older adults with cognitive impairment, existing training methods may not address learning needs, leading to difficulty with powered wheelchair skills. Error-minimized training, facilitated by shared control technology, may provide learning opportunities more suited to this population. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of an error-minimized approach to powered wheelchair skills training using shared control in residential care. Feasibility indicators were hypothesized a priori to be feasible for use in a definitive RCT. Methods A 2 × 2 factorial RCT compared an error-minimized powered wheelchair skills training program (Co-pilot) to a control intervention at two doses (6 sessions vs. 12 sessions). Data were collected on the feasibility of study processes (e.g., recruitment), resources (e.g., participant time), management (e.g., technology reliability), and training outcomes (e.g., adverse events, clinical outcomes). Results Twenty-five older adults with cognitive impairment participated in the study. Technical issues were encountered in 14.5% of training sessions. Participants receiving 6 sessions of training adhered better to the treatment than those receiving 12 sessions. All participants learned the skills required for PWC use with minor errors, regardless of the training method or dose. Co-pilot participants and trainers reported feelings of safety and training benefits with the use of shared control technology. Conclusions Individuals with mild to moderate cognitive impairment are able to learn the skills required to drive a powered wheelchair in as few as six training sessions. Further evaluation of the Co-pilot training program is required. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Shared control teleoperation technology may be used to augment learning in older adults with cognitive impairments. Evaluation of the feasibility of use of novel rehabilitation technologies is critical prior to engaging in large-scale clinical research. Individuals with cognitive impairment are able to learn the required skills for operation of a powered wheelchair.

Postural Control While Walking Interferes With Spatial Learning in Older Adults Navigating in a Real Environment.

Cognitive demands for postural control increase with aging and cognitive-motor interference (CMI) exists for a number of walking situations, especially with visuo-spatial cognitive tasks. Such interference also influences spatial learning abilities among older adults; however, this is rarely considered in research on aging in spatial navigation. We posited that visually and physically exploring an unknown environment may be subject to CMI for older adults. We investigated potential indicators of postural control interfering with spatial learning. Given known associations between age-related alterations in gait and brain structure, we also examined potential neuroanatomical correlates of this interference. Fourteen young and 14 older adults had to find an invisible goal in an unfamiliar, real, ecological environment. We measured walking speed, trajectory efficiency (direct route over taken route) and goal fixations (proportion of visual fixations toward the goal area). We calculated the change in walking speed between the first and last trials and adaptation indices for all three variables to quantify their modulation across learning trials. All participants were screened with a battery of visuo-cognitive tests. Eighteen of our participants (10 young, 8 older) also underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination. Older adults reduced their walking speed considerably on the first, compared to the last trial. The adaptation index of walking speed correlated positively with those of trajectory efficiency and goal fixations, indicating a reduction in resource sharing between walking and encoding the environment. The change in walking speed correlated negatively with gray matter volume in superior parietal and occipital regions and the precuneus. We interpret older adults’ change in walking speed as indicative of CMI, similar to dual task costs. This is supported by the correlations between the adaptation indices and between the change in walking speed and gray matter volume in brain regions that are important for navigation, given that they are involved in visual attention, sensory integration and encoding of space. These findings under ecological conditions in a natural spatial learning task question what constitutes dual tasking in older adults and they can lead future research to reconsider the actual cognitive burden of postural control in aging navigation research.

Visual statistical learning in children and adults: evidence from probability cueing.

In visual statistical learning (VSL), one can extract and exhibit memory for the statistical regularities of target locations in an incidental manner. The current study examined the development of VSL using the probability cueing paradigm with salient perceptual cues. We also investigated the elicited attention gradient phenomenon in VSL. In a visual search task, the target first appeared more often in one quadrant (i.e., rich) than the other quadrants (i.e., sparse). Then, the participants rotated the screen by 90° and the targets appeared in the four quadrants with equal probabilities. Each quadrant had a unique background color and was, hence, associated with salient perceptual cues. 1st-4th graders and adults participated. All participants showed probability cueing effects to a similar extent. We observed an attention gradient phenomenon, as all participants responded slower to the sparse quadrant that was distant from, rather than the ones that were adjacent to the rich quadrant. In the testing phase, all age groups showed persistent attentional biases based on both egocentric and allocentric perspectives. These findings showed that probability cueing effects may develop early, that perceptual cues can bias attention guidance during VSL for both children and adults, and that VSL can elicit a spaced-based attention gradient phenomenon for children and adults.

Learning and adaptation in older adults: An overview of main methods and theories

The aim of the present article is to offer a broad overview of usual methods and dominant theories in the field, in order to make unfamiliar readers more aware of the current state of the art in this domain and to show how it can support future investigation on learning and adaptation in older adults. As our understanding of the aging process is closely linked to the methods used to investigate it, a first part is devoted to usual methods in this field and their potential limitations. It also highlights the necessity of a deeper involvement of older adults in all steps of research to have a richer understanding of the reality of aging, including social and cultural aspects. The second part presents predominant theories of the field, starting from a biological level (i.e., processing resources) to reach a psychosocial level (i.e., regulation's processes). The benefice of environmental support to aging in place, such as assistive technologies, as well as the wish of older adults to continue to learn new things is discussed in the conclusion.

That’s hard! Item difficulty and word characteristics for bilinguals with and without developmental language disorder

ABSTRACT Research has investigated how lexical-semantic and participant factors impact word learning in young children and adults. However, limited information pertaining to expressive vocabulary development exists for school-aged bilinguals—particularly those with developmental language disorder (DLD). Cross-linguistic differences in the semantic characteristics of words may impact the types of cues available for constructing expressive vocabulary knowledge. To address this gap, we evaluated the relationships between intrinsic factors (age, language ability), extrinsic factors (L1 exposure), and word characteristics (e.g. imageability, concreteness) with item difficulty and expressive vocabulary knowledge in school-aged Spanish-English bilinguals with and without DLD. While we found similar patterns of associations between item difficulty and word characteristics across language ability groups, divergent predictive patterns emerged across languages and across ability groups. Educators supporting the development of bilingual students’ expressive vocabulary knowledge must account for not only cultural differences across students, but also characteristics inherent to words.

Cortical thickness correlates of probabilistic reward learning in young adults

While impairments in reward learning have been observed in depression, individual differences also exist among healthy normative populations and these differences have been parametrically mapped onto naturally occurring inter-individual variability in neuroanatomy. To date, alterations of cortical thickness as a function of reward learning have not been studied. Structural MRI and behaviourally assessedrobabilistic reward learning data from 103 participants (nmale = 35, nfemale = 68, age = 19.0 ± 1.0 years) from the Duke Neurogenetics Study were used in our analysis. The relationship between reward learning and vertex-wise cortical thickness was tested with a multiple linear regression including gender, age, and reward task stimulus discriminability as nuisance variables. Reward learning was significantly, positively associated with cortical thickness in the right medial superior frontal cortex (t = 4.469, pFWER = .048). This is the first study exploring the relationship between cortical thickness and probabilistic reward learning. It implicates a novel region in reward learning and can thereby inform future mechanistic studies.

Exogenous attention generalizes perceptual learning in adults with amblyopia

Visual perceptual learning (VPL), or improved performance after practicing the same visual task, is a behavioral manifestation of the impressive neuroplasticity in the adult brain. However, its practical effectiveness is limited because improvements are often specific to the trained conditions and require significant time and effort. Thus, it is critical to understand the conditions that promote learning and its transfer. Covert spatial attention helps overcome VPL location and feature specificity in neurotypical adults, but whether it can for people with atypical visual development is unknown. Here we show that involuntary attention helps generalize learning beyond trained spatial locations in adults with amblyopia, an ideal population for investigation given their asymmetrically developed, but highly plastic, visual cortex. Our findings provide insight into the mechanisms underlying changes in neuro(a)typical brain plasticity after practice. Further, they reveal that attention can enhance the effectiveness of perceptual learning during rehabilitation of visual disorders.

Dissociated Development of Speech and Limb Sensorimotor Learning in Stuttering: Speech Auditory-motor Learning is Impaired in Both Children and Adults Who Stutter

Stuttering is a neurodevelopmental disorder of speech fluency. Various experimental paradigms have demonstrated that affected individuals show limitations in sensorimotor control and learning. However, controversy exists regarding two core aspects of this perspective. First, it has been claimed that sensorimotor learning limitations are detectable only in adults who stutter (after years of coping with the disorder) but not during childhood close to the onset of stuttering. Second, it remains unclear whether stuttering individuals’ sensorimotor learning limitations affect only speech movements or also unrelated effector systems involved in nonspeech movements. We report data from separate experiments investigating speech auditory-motor learning (N = 60) and limb visuomotor learning (N = 84) in both children and adults who stutter versus matched nonstuttering individuals. Both children and adults who stutter showed statistically significant limitations in speech auditory-motor adaptation with formant-shifted feedback. This limitation was more profound in children than in adults and in younger children versus older children. Between-group differences in the adaptation of reach movements performed with rotated visual feedback were subtle but statistically significant for adults. In children, even the nonstuttering groups showed limited visuomotor adaptation just like their stuttering peers. We conclude that sensorimotor learning is impaired in individuals who stutter, and that the ability for speech auditory-motor learning—which was already adult-like in 3–6 year-old typically developing children—is severely compromised in young children near the onset of stuttering. Thus, motor learning limitations may play an important role in the fundamental mechanisms contributing to the onset of this speech disorder.

Initial landing position effects on Chinese word learning in children and adults

We adopted a word learning paradigm to examine whether children and adults differ in their saccade targeting strategies when learning novel words in Chinese reading. Adopting a developmental perspective, we extrapolated hypotheses pertaining to saccadic targeting and its development from the Chinese Reading Model (Li & Pollatsek, 2020). In our experiment, we embedded novel words into eight sentences, each of which provided a context for readers to form a new lexical representation. A group of children and a group of adults were required to read these sentences as their eye movements were recorded. At a basic level, we showed that decisions of initial saccadic targeting, and mechanisms responsible for computation of initial landing sites relative to launch sites are in place early in children, however, such targeting was less optimal in children than adults. Furthermore, for adults as lexical familiarity increased saccadic targeting behavior became more optimized, however, no such effects occurred in children. Mechanisms controlling initial saccadic targeting in relation to launch sites and in respect of lexical familiarity appear to operate with functional efficacy that is developmentally delayed. At a broad theoretical level, we consider our results in relation to issues associated with visually and linguistically, mediated saccadic control. More specifically, our novel findings fit neatly with our theoretical extrapolations from the CRM and suggest that its framework may be valuable for future investigations of the development of eye movement control in Chinese reading.