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Published on: October 2, 2019
Sleep and motor sequence learning consolidation in former iron deficient anemic adolescents
Sussanne Reyes1, Cecilia Algarín1, Betsy Lozoff2
1Sleep and Functional Neurobiology Laboratory, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INTA), University of Chile, El Líbano 5524, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
Insights
Children with infant iron deficiency anemia (IDA) show lasting motor learning deficits. However, post-training sleep may help improve motor skill consolidation in these individuals, particularly females.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a global health issue.
- IDA can negatively impact brain development and cognitive functions.
- Long-term effects of infant IDA on adolescent neurodevelopment are under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess motor learning and sleep-dependent consolidation in adolescents with a history of infant IDA.
- To compare motor learning outcomes between adolescents with and without infant IDA history.
- To explore potential gender differences in motor skill consolidation after sleep in IDA adolescents.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of adolescents with and without infant IDA history participated in a motor finger tapping task.
- Performance was assessed after learning, a 30-minute delay, and the following morning after sleep.
- Longitudinal follow-up data from a Chilean research project were utilized.
Main Results:
- Adolescents with infant IDA exhibited slower initial motor learning compared to controls.
- A similar short-term performance boost was observed in both groups.
- Overnight sleep led to performance improvements in female IDA adolescents, but not males, suggesting a gender-specific consolidation effect.
Conclusions:
- Infant IDA is associated with persistent deficits in motor learning abilities into adolescence.
- Post-training sleep may partially compensate for impaired motor learning during wakefulness in IDA adolescents.
- Findings highlight the potential for sleep to aid motor skill consolidation and suggest gender-specific recovery patterns.
Background:
Iron deficiency is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency worldwide. There is evidence that iron deficiency produces alterations in the developing brain, eventually leading to long-lasting effects on various cognitive functions.
Methods:
Here, we investigated motor learning and its consolidation after sleep in adolescents who sustained iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in infancy, compared to healthy controls, in the context of a long-term follow-up Chilean research project. Fifty-three adolescents who formerly had iron deficiency anemia as infants and 40 control adolescents practiced a sequential motor finger tapping task, before and after a night of sleep. Performance was measured at the end of learning, 30 min later (boost effect), and the next morning.
Results:
Revealed slower learning in subjects with infant iron deficiency anemia than control subjects, followed by a proportionally similar performance boost at 30 min. Performance remained stable overnight in healthy controls but further improved in infant IDA adolescents, suggesting a beneficial effect of post-training sleep on the consolidation of incompletely learned motor skills. In particular, overnight gains in performance were observed in female, but not male infant iron deficiency anemic subjects, suggesting a gender effect.
Conclusions:
Our results indicate long-lasting motor learning deficits in infant IDA adolescents and provide support to the hypothesis that post-training sleep might, to some extent, compensate for hampered motor learning during wakefulness.
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