TY - JOUR

T1 - Neural underpinnings of visuomotor adaptation and retention after a night of sleep in children with DCD

AU - Warlop, Griet

AU - Nijhof, Annabel D.

AU - Cracco, Emiel

AU - Wiersema, Jan R.

AU - Deconinck, Frederik J.A.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 Elsevier Ltd.

PY - 2025/12

Y1 - 2025/12

N2 - Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is often considered a motor learning disorder, yet supporting evidence remains limited and inconclusive. This study aimed to refine our understanding of motor learning in DCD by examining its underlying mechanisms and stabilization of learning in later stages, beyond ad hoc learning. Visuomotor adaptation was assessed in a two-session experiment involving prolonged learning phases, separated by a night of sleep, in a centre-out drawing task, in 21 children with (age: 13.7 ± 1.5 years) and 15 without DCD (age: 14.2 ± 1.4 years). Neurophysiological responses to adaptation were evaluated through EEG-measured error-related negativity, indexing sensory prediction error processing. Sleep quality was assessed to explore potential sleep impairments in DCD. Results seem to suggest difficulty in early-stage adaptation in DCD, reflected by greater directional error. However, their performance stabilised after prolonged learning, and they successfully updated their internal model of action, indicated by similar after-effects in both groups. On day two, participants with DCD seem to face more difficulty re-adapting but still achieved stabilised performance. Crucially, despite on-task learning gains, they never reached the performance level of their neurotypical peers, plateauing with higher directional errors, possibly due to a noisier sensorimotor system, that accommodates less reliable motor prediction. Neurophysiological findings suggested reduced sensory prediction error sensitivity in DCD, particularly in participants with persistent motor difficulties. Although sleep disturbances were observed in DCD, no direct link with learning outcomes was found. Overall, this study suggests that motor control limitations, rather than a core learning deficit, constrain motor performance in children with DCD.

AB - Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is often considered a motor learning disorder, yet supporting evidence remains limited and inconclusive. This study aimed to refine our understanding of motor learning in DCD by examining its underlying mechanisms and stabilization of learning in later stages, beyond ad hoc learning. Visuomotor adaptation was assessed in a two-session experiment involving prolonged learning phases, separated by a night of sleep, in a centre-out drawing task, in 21 children with (age: 13.7 ± 1.5 years) and 15 without DCD (age: 14.2 ± 1.4 years). Neurophysiological responses to adaptation were evaluated through EEG-measured error-related negativity, indexing sensory prediction error processing. Sleep quality was assessed to explore potential sleep impairments in DCD. Results seem to suggest difficulty in early-stage adaptation in DCD, reflected by greater directional error. However, their performance stabilised after prolonged learning, and they successfully updated their internal model of action, indicated by similar after-effects in both groups. On day two, participants with DCD seem to face more difficulty re-adapting but still achieved stabilised performance. Crucially, despite on-task learning gains, they never reached the performance level of their neurotypical peers, plateauing with higher directional errors, possibly due to a noisier sensorimotor system, that accommodates less reliable motor prediction. Neurophysiological findings suggested reduced sensory prediction error sensitivity in DCD, particularly in participants with persistent motor difficulties. Although sleep disturbances were observed in DCD, no direct link with learning outcomes was found. Overall, this study suggests that motor control limitations, rather than a core learning deficit, constrain motor performance in children with DCD.

KW - Developmental Coordination Disorder

KW - Electroencephalography

KW - Error-related negativity

KW - Retention

KW - Sleep

KW - Visuomotor adaptation

KW - Psychology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105022805207&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ridd.2025.105170

DO - 10.1016/j.ridd.2025.105170

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 41275758

AN - SCOPUS:105022805207

VL - 167

JO - Research in Developmental Disabilities

JF - Research in Developmental Disabilities

SN - 0891-4222

M1 - 105170

ER -