Motor learning in individuals with autism spectrum disorder: activation in superior parietal lobule related to learning and repetitive behaviors.
Autistic adults show weaker motor sequence learning and less right parietal brain activity, matching their repetitive behavior severity.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team scanned adults with and without autism while they learned a finger-tapping sequence. They tracked how fast each group improved and which brain areas lit up.
They also rated each autistic adult’s repetitive behaviors. The goal was to see if weaker brain activation went hand-in-hand with slower motor learning and more repetitive habits.
What they found
The autism group learned the sequence more slowly. Their right superior parietal lobule stayed quiet during practice.
Less activity in this spot matched more severe repetitive behaviors. The neurotypical group showed the opposite pattern.
How this fits with other research
La Malfa et al. (2004) already showed that kids with autism struggle to copy body moves. The new study adds brain evidence: the same parietal area that helps imitation also lags during sequence learning.
Matson et al. (1994) found that autistic adults learn simple eye-blink associations too fast, but the new study shows they learn complex sequences too slow. The tasks differ, so both can be true: basic reflexes speed up while higher-order skills slow down.
Schunke et al. (2016) saw slower imitative reactions in autistic adults. The fMRI data now tell us why: the parietal engine that should drive these reactions is under-powered.
Why it matters
If a client’s repetitive behaviors are intense, expect motor learning to take longer. Break new skills into tiny chunks and give extra practice trials. Watch parietal-based tasks like tying shoes or keyboarding—those may need their own program goals.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Motor-linked implicit learning is the learning of a sequence of movements without conscious awareness. Although motor symptoms are frequently reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), recent behavioral studies have suggested that motor-linked implicit learning may be intact in ASD. The serial reaction time (SRT) task is one of the most common measures of motor-linked implicit learning. The present study used a 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner to examine the behavioral and neural correlates of real-time motor sequence learning in adolescents and adults with ASD (n = 15) compared with age- and intelligence quotient-matched individuals with typical development (n = 15) during an SRT task. Behavioral results suggested less robust motor sequence learning in individuals with ASD. Group differences in brain activation suggested that individuals with ASD, relative to individuals with typical development, showed decreased activation in the right superior parietal lobule (SPL) and right precuneus (Brodmann areas 5 and 7, and extending into the intraparietal sulcus) during learning. Activation in these areas (and in areas such as the right putamen and right supramarginal gyrus) was found to be significantly related to behavioral learning in this task. Additionally, individuals with ASD who had more severe repetitive behavior/restricted interest symptoms demonstrated greater decreased activation in these regions during motor learning. In conjunction, these results suggest that the SPL may play an important role in motor learning and repetitive behavior in individuals with ASD.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2015 · doi:10.1002/aur.1403