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Is the fine motor–executive functions link stronger for new compared to repeated fine motor tasks?

Although the motor–executive function (EF) link is actively being investigated, there remain open questions surrounding why some studies found associations between specific motor and specific EF tasks, while others did not. Furthermore, it is also yet unknown which factors impact the magnitude of th...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Maurer, Michelle N., Roebers, Claudia M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7644017/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33151994
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241308
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author Maurer, Michelle N.
Roebers, Claudia M.
author_facet Maurer, Michelle N.
Roebers, Claudia M.
author_sort Maurer, Michelle N.
collection PubMed
description Although the motor–executive function (EF) link is actively being investigated, there remain open questions surrounding why some studies found associations between specific motor and specific EF tasks, while others did not. Furthermore, it is also yet unknown which factors impact the magnitude of the motor–EF link. Findings from neuroimaging studies have proposed that neural activity in networks that are important for motor and cognitive tasks is especially strong when a task is new. In the present behavioral study, we systematically investigated the impact that task novelty had on the motor–EF link. In our study, n = 124 kindergarten children aged five to six administered in a within-subject design three fine motor tasks of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (Posting Coins, Threading Beads, and Drawing Trail) twice in succession (new vs. repeated), and three EF tasks (adapted versions of a Flanker, a N-back, and the Advanced Dimensional Chance Card Sort task). Results not only replicated the fine motor–EF link, but also showed a significantly stronger association between EF and the new task compared to the repeated Drawing Trail task. However, for the time-based task of Posting Coins and Threading Beads, motor–EF associations did not differ between the new task and the repeated task. Future investigations of more than two repetitions will provide further insights into the assumption that the motor–EF link is mainly driven by the EF processes triggered when a task is new, demands attention, and requires fast and flexible adaptation.
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spelling pubmed-76440172020-11-16 Is the fine motor–executive functions link stronger for new compared to repeated fine motor tasks? Maurer, Michelle N. Roebers, Claudia M. PLoS One Research Article Although the motor–executive function (EF) link is actively being investigated, there remain open questions surrounding why some studies found associations between specific motor and specific EF tasks, while others did not. Furthermore, it is also yet unknown which factors impact the magnitude of the motor–EF link. Findings from neuroimaging studies have proposed that neural activity in networks that are important for motor and cognitive tasks is especially strong when a task is new. In the present behavioral study, we systematically investigated the impact that task novelty had on the motor–EF link. In our study, n = 124 kindergarten children aged five to six administered in a within-subject design three fine motor tasks of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (Posting Coins, Threading Beads, and Drawing Trail) twice in succession (new vs. repeated), and three EF tasks (adapted versions of a Flanker, a N-back, and the Advanced Dimensional Chance Card Sort task). Results not only replicated the fine motor–EF link, but also showed a significantly stronger association between EF and the new task compared to the repeated Drawing Trail task. However, for the time-based task of Posting Coins and Threading Beads, motor–EF associations did not differ between the new task and the repeated task. Future investigations of more than two repetitions will provide further insights into the assumption that the motor–EF link is mainly driven by the EF processes triggered when a task is new, demands attention, and requires fast and flexible adaptation. Public Library of Science 2020-11-05 /pmc/articles/PMC7644017/ /pubmed/33151994 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241308 Text en © 2020 Maurer, Roebers http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Maurer, Michelle N.
Roebers, Claudia M.
Is the fine motor–executive functions link stronger for new compared to repeated fine motor tasks?
title Is the fine motor–executive functions link stronger for new compared to repeated fine motor tasks?
title_full Is the fine motor–executive functions link stronger for new compared to repeated fine motor tasks?
title_fullStr Is the fine motor–executive functions link stronger for new compared to repeated fine motor tasks?
title_full_unstemmed Is the fine motor–executive functions link stronger for new compared to repeated fine motor tasks?
title_short Is the fine motor–executive functions link stronger for new compared to repeated fine motor tasks?
title_sort is the fine motor–executive functions link stronger for new compared to repeated fine motor tasks?
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7644017/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33151994
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241308
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