Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy.
Department of Neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Neuroreport. 2021 Oct 6;32(14):1153-1160. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0000000000001707.
Impaired motor learning in individuals with Parkinson's disease is often attributed to deficits in executive function, which serves as an important cognitive process supporting motor learning. However, less is known about the role of other cognitive domains and its association with motor learning in Parkinson's disease. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between motor learning and multiple domains of cognitive performance in individuals with Parkinson's disease. Twenty-nine participants with Parkinson's disease received comprehensive neuropsychological testing, followed by practice of a bimanual finger sequence task. A retention test of the finger sequence task was completed 24 h later. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to examine the associations between motor learning (acquisition rate and retention) and cognitive performance in five specific cognitive domains, while controlling for age, sex, and years of Parkinson's disease diagnosis. We found that a higher acquisition rate was associated with better episodic memory, specifically better recall in visual episodic memory, in individuals with Parkinson's disease. No significant associations were observed between retention and cognitive performance in any domains. The association between motor acquisition and episodic memory indicates an increased dependency on episodic memory as a potential compensatory cognitive strategy used by individuals with Parkinson's disease during motor learning.
帕金森病患者的运动学习受损通常归因于执行功能缺陷，执行功能是支持运动学习的重要认知过程。然而，关于其他认知领域的作用及其与帕金森病患者运动学习的关系知之甚少。本研究的目的是探讨帕金森病患者运动学习与多个认知领域表现之间的关系。29 名帕金森病患者接受了全面的神经心理学测试，随后进行了双手手指序列任务的练习。24 小时后完成手指序列任务的保持测试。使用分层线性回归来检查运动学习（习得率和保持率）与五个特定认知领域的认知表现之间的关系，同时控制年龄、性别和帕金森病诊断年限。我们发现，较高的习得率与帕金森病患者的情景记忆（特别是视觉情景记忆的回忆）更好相关。在任何领域，保持率与认知表现之间均无显著相关性。运动习得与情景记忆之间的关联表明，帕金森病患者在运动学习过程中可能依赖情景记忆作为潜在的补偿认知策略，增加了对情景记忆的依赖。
