Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Montessorilaan 3, PO box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Game Insight Group, Tennis Australia, Richmond, VIC, Australia.
Hum Mov Sci. 2020 Feb;69:102556. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2019.102556. Epub 2019 Dec 12.
This study investigated the role of working memory capacity on implicit and explicit motor sequence learning in young children. To this end, a task was utilized that required a gross motor response (flexing the elbow) and that could differentiate between movement speed (i.e., reaction time and movement time) and movement accuracy. Children aged 7-9 years practiced a serial reaction time task that involved the production of a fixed sequence of elbow flexions of prescribed magnitude across two consecutive days. Children in the explicit group were informed about the presence of the sequence and were shown this sequence, while children in the implicit group were not made aware of the sequence. Additionally, children's verbal and visuospatial working memory capacity was assessed. Results of day 1 regarding movement speed revealed no evidence of sequence learning for either group, but movement accuracy results suggested that sequence learning occurred for the implicit group. For both groups, only improvements in movement accuracy were consolidated on day 2, indicating both general and sequence specific learning. Working memory capacity did not correlate with learning in either of the groups. Children in the explicit group accumulated more sequence knowledge compared to children in the implicit group, but this knowledge did not translate to more or better sequence learning. The minimal differences found between the implicit and explicit condition and the absence of a role for working memory capacity add to the increasing evidence that the observed differences between implicit and explicit sequence learning in adults may be less distinct in children.
本研究旨在探究工作记忆容量对儿童内隐和外显运动序列学习的影响。为此，我们采用了一项需要进行粗大运动反应（弯曲肘部）的任务，该任务可以区分运动速度（即反应时间和运动时间）和运动准确性。7-9 岁的儿童连续两天练习一个涉及以规定幅度弯曲肘部的固定序列的连续反应时间任务。外显组的儿童被告知序列的存在，并展示了该序列，而内隐组的儿童则没有意识到序列的存在。此外，还评估了儿童的言语和视空间工作记忆容量。第 1 天的运动速度结果没有证据表明两组都发生了序列学习，但运动准确性结果表明内隐组发生了序列学习。对于两组，仅在第 2 天巩固了运动准确性的提高，表明发生了一般性和序列特异性学习。工作记忆容量与两组的学习均无相关性。与内隐组相比，外显组的儿童积累了更多的序列知识，但这种知识并没有转化为更多或更好的序列学习。在内隐和外显条件之间发现的最小差异以及工作记忆容量的缺失，这增加了越来越多的证据表明，成人中观察到的内隐和外显序列学习之间的差异在儿童中可能不那么明显。
