History of Illicit Stimulant Use Is Not Associated with Long-Lasting Changes in Learning of Fine Motor Skills in Humans
Little is known about the long-lasting effect of use of illicit stimulant drugs on learning of new motor skills. We hypothesised that abstinent individuals with a history of primarily methamphetamine and ecstasy use would exhibit normal learning of a visuomotor tracking task compared to controls. Th...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2016-01-01
|
| Series: | Neural Plasticity |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9485079 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832555824666378240 |
|---|---|
| author | Gabrielle Todd Verity Pearson-Dennett Stanley C. Flavel Miranda Haberfield Hannah Edwards Jason M. White |
| author_facet | Gabrielle Todd Verity Pearson-Dennett Stanley C. Flavel Miranda Haberfield Hannah Edwards Jason M. White |
| author_sort | Gabrielle Todd |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Little is known about the long-lasting effect of use of illicit stimulant drugs on learning of new motor skills. We hypothesised that abstinent individuals with a history of primarily methamphetamine and ecstasy use would exhibit normal learning of a visuomotor tracking task compared to controls. The study involved three groups: abstinent stimulant users (n=21; 27 ± 6 yrs) and two gender-matched control groups comprising nondrug users (n=16; 22 ± 4 yrs) and cannabis users (n=16; 23 ± 5 yrs). Motor learning was assessed with a three-minute visuomotor tracking task. Subjects were instructed to follow a moving target on a computer screen with movement of the index finger. Metacarpophalangeal joint angle and first dorsal interosseous electromyographic activity were recorded. Pattern matching was assessed by cross-correlation of the joint angle and target traces. Distance from the target (tracking error) was also calculated. Motor learning was evident in the visuomotor task. Pattern matching improved over time (cross-correlation coefficient) and tracking error decreased. However, task performance did not differ between the groups. The results suggest that learning of a new fine visuomotor skill is unchanged in individuals with a history of illicit stimulant use. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f6b8e2f7b45144e4af59898047b445d2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-5904 1687-5443 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Neural Plasticity |
| spelling | doaj-art-f6b8e2f7b45144e4af59898047b445d22025-02-03T05:47:11ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432016-01-01201610.1155/2016/94850799485079History of Illicit Stimulant Use Is Not Associated with Long-Lasting Changes in Learning of Fine Motor Skills in HumansGabrielle Todd0Verity Pearson-Dennett1Stanley C. Flavel2Miranda Haberfield3Hannah Edwards4Jason M. White5School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, AustraliaSchool of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, AustraliaSchool of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, AustraliaSchool of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, AustraliaSchool of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, AustraliaSchool of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, AustraliaLittle is known about the long-lasting effect of use of illicit stimulant drugs on learning of new motor skills. We hypothesised that abstinent individuals with a history of primarily methamphetamine and ecstasy use would exhibit normal learning of a visuomotor tracking task compared to controls. The study involved three groups: abstinent stimulant users (n=21; 27 ± 6 yrs) and two gender-matched control groups comprising nondrug users (n=16; 22 ± 4 yrs) and cannabis users (n=16; 23 ± 5 yrs). Motor learning was assessed with a three-minute visuomotor tracking task. Subjects were instructed to follow a moving target on a computer screen with movement of the index finger. Metacarpophalangeal joint angle and first dorsal interosseous electromyographic activity were recorded. Pattern matching was assessed by cross-correlation of the joint angle and target traces. Distance from the target (tracking error) was also calculated. Motor learning was evident in the visuomotor task. Pattern matching improved over time (cross-correlation coefficient) and tracking error decreased. However, task performance did not differ between the groups. The results suggest that learning of a new fine visuomotor skill is unchanged in individuals with a history of illicit stimulant use.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9485079 |
| spellingShingle | Gabrielle Todd Verity Pearson-Dennett Stanley C. Flavel Miranda Haberfield Hannah Edwards Jason M. White History of Illicit Stimulant Use Is Not Associated with Long-Lasting Changes in Learning of Fine Motor Skills in Humans Neural Plasticity |
| title | History of Illicit Stimulant Use Is Not Associated with Long-Lasting Changes in Learning of Fine Motor Skills in Humans |
| title_full | History of Illicit Stimulant Use Is Not Associated with Long-Lasting Changes in Learning of Fine Motor Skills in Humans |
| title_fullStr | History of Illicit Stimulant Use Is Not Associated with Long-Lasting Changes in Learning of Fine Motor Skills in Humans |
| title_full_unstemmed | History of Illicit Stimulant Use Is Not Associated with Long-Lasting Changes in Learning of Fine Motor Skills in Humans |
| title_short | History of Illicit Stimulant Use Is Not Associated with Long-Lasting Changes in Learning of Fine Motor Skills in Humans |
| title_sort | history of illicit stimulant use is not associated with long lasting changes in learning of fine motor skills in humans |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9485079 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gabrielletodd historyofillicitstimulantuseisnotassociatedwithlonglastingchangesinlearningoffinemotorskillsinhumans AT veritypearsondennett historyofillicitstimulantuseisnotassociatedwithlonglastingchangesinlearningoffinemotorskillsinhumans AT stanleycflavel historyofillicitstimulantuseisnotassociatedwithlonglastingchangesinlearningoffinemotorskillsinhumans AT mirandahaberfield historyofillicitstimulantuseisnotassociatedwithlonglastingchangesinlearningoffinemotorskillsinhumans AT hannahedwards historyofillicitstimulantuseisnotassociatedwithlonglastingchangesinlearningoffinemotorskillsinhumans AT jasonmwhite historyofillicitstimulantuseisnotassociatedwithlonglastingchangesinlearningoffinemotorskillsinhumans |