Although able to acquire and retain certain motor skills, Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients appear to have deficits at both the higher """"""""cognitive"""""""" and lower """"""""motoric"""""""" levels of the motor system. In this project, a series of inter-related experiments will further delineate strengths and deficits in the motor functioning of AD patients. Building on the principal investigator's previous research, the first five experiments examine the effects of various practice conditions on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of a continuous fine motor skill, a discrete gross motor skill, and a multi-segment movement task. Experimental manipulations in these studies are designed to reveal the extent to which AD patients form motor schemata. In addition to disrupting these higher level processes, AD may alter basic motor control mechanisms. Experiments 6-12 will examine motor control in both laboratory (spatial aiming) and ecologically valid (handwriting) tasks. Results of studies utilizing the spatial aiming task will help separate motor control problems due to compensatory efforts by the patient from difficulties due to the neurophysiological changes associated with AD. Four studies will utilize a handwriting assessment protocol developed by the researchers to evaluate problems in fine motor control. Following norming on healthy older adults, this protocol will be administered to a diverse sample of AD patients. In addition to clarifying the impact of AD on the complex, multi-layered motor system, the proposed studies could provide a quickly administered, non-intrusive tool for early diagnosis and charting the progression of AD. Finally, the results could be used as the basis for future motor-based intervention programs directed at improving everyday living skills in AD patients.
| Dick, Malcolm B; Hsieh, Susie; Bricker, Josh et al. (2003) Facilitating acquisition and transfer of a continuous motor task in healthy older adults and patients with Alzheimer's disease. Neuropsychology 17:202-12 |
| Dick, M B; Hsieh, S; Dick-Muehlke, C et al. (2000) The variability of practice hypothesis in motor learning: does it apply to Alzheimer's disease? Brain Cogn 44:470-89 |
