Witt Karsten, Daniels Christine, Daniel Victoria, Schmitt-Eliassen Julia, Volkmann Jens, Deuschl Günther
Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Germany.
Neuropsychologia. 2006;44(12):2445-51. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.04.013. Epub 2006 Jun 27.
Implicit memory and learning mechanisms are composed of multiple processes and systems. Previous studies demonstrated a basal ganglia involvement in purely cognitive tasks that form stimulus response habits by reinforcement learning such as implicit classification learning. We will test the basal ganglia influence on two cognitive implicit tasks previously described by Berry and Broadbent, the sugar production task and the personal interaction task. Furthermore, we will investigate the relationship between certain aspects of an executive dysfunction and implicit learning. To this end, we have tested 22 Parkinsonian patients and 22 age-matched controls on two implicit cognitive tasks, in which participants learned to control a complex system. They interacted with the system by choosing an input value and obtaining an output that was related in a complex manner to the input. The objective was to reach and maintain a specific target value across trials (dynamic system learning). The two tasks followed the same underlying complex rule but had different surface appearances. Subsequently, participants performed an executive test battery including the Stroop test, verbal fluency and the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST). The results demonstrate intact implicit learning in patients, despite an executive dysfunction in the Parkinsonian group. They lead to the conclusion that the basal ganglia system affected in Parkinson's disease does not contribute to the implicit acquisition of a new cognitive skill. Furthermore, the Parkinsonian patients were able to reach a specific goal in an implicit learning context despite impaired goal directed behaviour in the WCST, a classic test of executive functions. These results demonstrate a functional independence of implicit cognitive skill learning and certain aspects of executive functions.
内隐记忆和学习机制由多个过程和系统组成。先前的研究表明，基底神经节参与了通过强化学习形成刺激反应习惯的纯认知任务，如内隐分类学习。我们将测试基底神经节对Berry和Broadbent先前描述的两项认知内隐任务的影响，即糖生产任务和人际互动任务。此外，我们将研究执行功能障碍的某些方面与内隐学习之间的关系。为此，我们对22名帕金森病患者和22名年龄匹配的对照组进行了两项内隐认知任务测试，参与者在这些任务中学习控制一个复杂系统。他们通过选择一个输入值并获得一个与输入以复杂方式相关的输出与系统进行交互。目标是在多次试验中达到并维持一个特定的目标值（动态系统学习）。这两项任务遵循相同的潜在复杂规则，但表面形式不同。随后，参与者进行了一系列执行测试，包括斯特鲁普测试、语言流畅性测试和威斯康星卡片分类测试（WCST）。结果表明，尽管帕金森病组存在执行功能障碍，但患者的内隐学习仍完好无损。这些结果得出结论，帕金森病中受影响的基底神经节系统对新认知技能的内隐习得没有贡献。此外，尽管在执行功能的经典测试WCST中目标导向行为受损，但帕金森病患者在隐式学习环境中仍能够达到特定目标。这些结果证明了内隐认知技能学习与执行功能某些方面的功能独立性。
