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Implicit sequence learning in young people with Tourette syndrome with and without co‐occurring attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Author(s) -
Shephard Elizabeth,
Groom Madeleine J.,
Jackson Georgina M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of neuropsychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1748-6653
pISSN - 1748-6645
DOI - 10.1111/jnp.12167
Subject(s) - psychology , tics , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , habit , tourette syndrome , developmental psychology , sequence learning , learning disability , affect (linguistics) , cognition , cognitive psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , psychotherapist , communication
Impaired habit‐learning has been proposed to underlie the tic symptoms of Tourette syndrome ( TS ). However, accounts differ in terms of how habit‐learning is altered in TS , with some authors proposing habit formation is impaired due to a deficient ‘chunking’ mechanism, and others proposing habit‐learning is overactive and tics reflect hyperlearned behaviours. Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) frequently co‐occurs with TS and is known to affect cognitive function in young people with co‐occurring TS and ADHD ( TS + ADHD ). It is unclear, however, how co‐occurring ADHD symptoms affect habit‐learning in TS . In this study, we investigated whether young people with TS would show deficient or hyperactive habit‐learning, and assessed the effects of co‐occurring ADHD symptoms on habit‐learning in TS . Participants aged 9–17 years with TS ( n = 18), TS + ADHD ( n = 17), ADHD ( n = 13), and typical development ( n = 20) completed a motor sequence learning task to assess habit‐learning. We used a 2 ( TS ‐yes, TS ‐no) × 2 ( ADHD ‐yes, ADHD ‐no) factorial analysis to test the effects of TS , ADHD , and their interaction on accuracy and reaction time indices of sequence learning. TS was associated with intact sequence learning, but a tendency for difficulty transitioning from sequenced to non‐sequenced performance was suggestive of hyper‐learning. ADHD was associated with significantly poorer accuracy during acquisition of the sequence, indicative of impaired habit‐learning. There were no interactions between the TS and ADHD factors, indicating young people with TS + ADHD showed both TS ‐ and ADHD ‐related atypicalities in habit‐learning.