Atypical beta oscillatory dynamics are related to poor procedural learning in children with developmental coordination disorder

Authors

Jarrad A.G. Lum
Kaila M. Hamilton
Li Ann Leow, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Welber Marinovic
Ian Fuelscher
Pamela Barhoun
Talitha C. Ford
Aron T. Hill
Samaneh Nahravani
Melissa Kirkovski
Peter G. Enticott
Christian Hyde

Author Identifier

Li Ann Leow: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9655-3181

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Developmental Science

Volume

28

Issue

4

Publisher

Wiley

School

School of Arts and Humanities

RAS ID

82180

Funders

Child Development Fund Research Grant from the Waterloo Foundation (2013-3613)

Comments

Lum, J. A. G., Hamilton, K. M., Leow, L., Marinovic, W., Fuelscher, I., Barhoun, P., Ford, T. C., Hill, A. T., Nahravani, S., Kirkovski, M., Enticott, P. G., & Hyde, C. (2025). Atypical beta oscillatory dynamics are related to poor procedural learning in children with developmental coordination disorder. Developmental Science, 28(4), e70031. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.70031

Abstract

Procedural learning difficulties are commonly reported in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), yet the neural basis of this impairment remains unclear. This study addressed this gap by examining the correlation between cortical oscillatory activity and procedural learning of a sequence of finger movements in children with and without DCD. Participants were 19 children with DCD and 38 typically developing (TD) children, with a mean age of 10 years and 3 months. Children completed the Serial Reaction Time task, a standard measure of procedural learning, during which they unintentionally learned a sequence of finger movements. Electroencephalography (EEG) was continuously recorded as they performed the task. Behavioural analyses indicated poorer procedural learning in the DCD group compared to the TD group. EEG analyses revealed that beta activity over motor areas and theta/alpha activity over occipital areas were sensitive to procedural learning effects. Group differences were observed only in beta activity, with the DCD group showing reduced beta modulation relative to TD children. No significant group differences were found for theta or alpha activity. This study provides new evidence demonstrating an association between poor procedural learning and atypical beta oscillatory dynamics in DCD.

DOI

10.1111/desc.70031

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