Motor learning and performance in schizophrenia and aging: two different patterns of decline
Wouter Hulstijn1,2, Claudia Cornelis3,4, Anne Morsel3
1Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. wouter.hulstijn@donders.ru.nl.
Experimental Brain Research
|March 9, 2024
Summary
Individuals with schizophrenia and the elderly exhibit motor slowing but demonstrate distinct motor learning patterns. Cognitive deficits impact schizophrenia motor learning, while task complexity affects the elderly.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Motor Control
Background:
- Psychomotor slowing is a known feature of schizophrenia.
- Motor learning deficits in schizophrenia are under-researched.
- Comparison with age-related motor decline is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- Compare motor learning in schizophrenia with age-related decline.
- Investigate explicit and implicit motor learning, sequence learning, adaptation, tracking, and aiming.
- Examine cognitive and motor performance differences.
Main Methods:
- Compared 30 individuals with schizophrenia, 30 healthy controls, and 30 elderly participants.
- Utilized sensorimotor learning tasks: sequence learning, adaptation (explicit/implicit), tracking, and aiming.
- Included explicit verbal learning and aiming tasks.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia and elderly groups showed slower Movement Time (MT) than controls.
- Both groups improved over time, but with different learning rates.
- Elderly showed slower learning in tracking/explicit sequence learning; schizophrenia showed impaired adaptation and poorer cognitive performance.
Conclusions:
- Motor slowing is present in schizophrenia and elderly, with distinct learning patterns.
- Cognitive deficits impair motor learning in schizophrenia.
- Task complexity and reduced precision impact motor learning in the elderly, suggesting different decline mechanisms.
