Patients with Parkinson's disease learn to control complex systems-an indication for intact implicit cognitive skill learning.

Full Abstract

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.

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Author information

Author/s: Witt, Karsten (K); Daniels, Christine (C); Daniel, Victoria (V); Schmitt-Eliassen, Julia (J); Volkmann, Jens (J); Deuschl, Günther (G);

Affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Germany. k.witt(-atsign-)neurologie.uni-kiel.de

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Neuropsychologia (Neuropsychologia), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-; vol 44 (issue 12) : pp 2445-51

Dates: Created 2006/07/24; Completed 2006/09/26; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 16806313, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Aged
Analysis of Variance
Concept Formation - physiology
Female
Humans
Learning - physiology
Male

Male
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data
Parkinson Disease - physiopathology
Problem Solving - physiology
Questionnaires
Statistics, Nonparametric

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