Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Motor sequence learning and reading ability: is poor reading associated with sequencing deficits?

Deborah P Waber1, David J Marcus, Peter W Forbes

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. deborah.waber@tch.harvard.edu

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|April 25, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Prenatal exposure to indoor PM<sub>2.5</sub> and children's cognitive performance at 4 years of age: an observational analysis from the UGAAR randomized controlled trial.

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)·2026
Same author

Eliminating Disparities in Children's Lead Exposure: An Unfinished Job.

American journal of public health·2026
Same author

Time-Varying Exposure to Element Mixtures and Children's Cognition at 5 Years of Age: Findings from the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.

Environmental health perspectives·2026
Same author

Machine learning to infer neurocognitive testing scores among adolescents and young adults with congenital heart disease.

Communications medicine·2026
Same author

Identification of a stress-sensitive endogenous opioid-containing neuronal population in the paranigral ventral tegmental area.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2025
Same author

Using a neural network to derive early childhood neurodevelopmental profiles in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.

BMJ public health·2025

Children with learning disabilities do not necessarily have motor sequence learning deficits. This study found no evidence that poor reading is linked to general sequential learning problems in children aged 7-11.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Learning disabilities are often assumed to involve sequencing problems.
  • These assumed deficits lack specific empirical definition and validation.
  • Understanding sequential learning is crucial for educational and therapeutic interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate motor sequence learning in children with and without learning disabilities.
  • To determine the relationship between sequence learning, reading ability, cognitive level, and attention.
  • To clarify if specific deficits in sequential learning are associated with reading difficulties.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a non-verbal serial reaction time (SRT) paradigm.
  • Assessed 422 children aged 7 to 11 years.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analyzed performance in relation to reading skills, cognitive ability, and attention problems.

    • Main Results:

    • Children exhibited typical motor sequence learning response profiles.
    • Implicit sequence learning was not significantly linked to reading, cognitive ability, or attention.
    • Cognitive ability predicted overall response time and accuracy; reading and attention predicted accuracy.

    Conclusions:

    • No evidence supports a preferential association between poor reading and domain-general sequential learning deficits.
    • Motor sequence learning, particularly implicit aspects, may not be the primary deficit in children with reading difficulties.
    • Findings challenge the broad assumption of universal sequencing problems in learning disabilities.