Unique behavioral strategies in visuomotor learning: Hope for the non-learner

Establishing the Validity and Reliability of an Online Motor Learning Game: Applications for Alzheimer's Disease Research Within MindCrowd

Objective: Motor practice effects (i.e., improvements in motor task performance with practice) are emerging as a unique variable that can predict Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression and biomarker positivity. However, the tasks used to study motor practice effects have involved face-to-face assessment, making them difficult to integrate into large internet-based cohorts that represent the next generation of AD research. The purpose of this study was to validate an online computer game against its in-lab version, which has been shown previously to characterize motor practice effects. Materials and Methods: This study leveraged young adult participants within the MindCrowd electronic cohort, a large nationwide cohort for AD research collected entirely through the internet. Validation compared performance on the online version among MindCrowd users against an age-matched cohort's performance on an in-lab version using a different controller (Xbox 360 controller joystick for in-lab sample versus keyboard arrow keys for online sample). Results: Data indicated that the rate of skill acquisition among MindCrowd users were not significantly different from those of the in-lab cohort. Furthermore, the contact-to-consent rate observed in this study (although low) was similar to that of other online AD cohorts. Conclusion: Overall, this study demonstrates that implementing online games designed to study and measure motor practice effects into online research cohorts is feasible and valid. Future research will explore how online game performance is associated with age and dementia risk factors that may help further an understanding of AD.

Mediation Analysis of the Effect of Visuospatial Memory on Motor Skill Learning in Older Adults

There is high inter-individual variability in motor skill learning among older adults. Identifying the nature of these individual differences remains challenging due to interactions between participant characteristics (e.g., age, cognition) and task-related factors (e.g., nature of task, level of skill pre-training), making it difficult to determine plausibly causal relationships. This study addresses these competing explanations by using mediation analysis to examine plausible causal inference between visuospatial memory and one-month retention of both gross and fine motor components of a functional upper-extremity task following training. Results suggest that better visuospatial memory results in more retention of fine but not gross motor skill, expanding on previous correlational studies in older adults and informing future interventions for maximizing motor learning in geriatric populations.