The feasibility and efficacy of a serial reaction time task that measures motor learning of anticipatory stepping.
Geneviève N Olivier, Serene S Paul, Christopher S Walter and 5 others
PMID 33857800WHAT IT FOUND
Healthy young adults completed a standing step-learning task without adverse events.
The high dose of 4320 steps improved step times; the low dose of 144 steps did not. The high dose also learned more after a break.
Key findings
01All 20 participants completed all assigned practice sessions without adverse events.
02The high-dose group, which performed 4320 steps, improved during practice on both random and repeating sequences; the low-dose group, which performed 144 steps, did not.
03The high-dose group showed better learning after a break than the low-dose group for both random and repeating sequences.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 20 healthy young adults, so it does not show what would happen in older adults or people with balance, neurologic, or cognitive impairments. The low-dose group was faster before practice began, despite random assignment. That baseline difference could have affected the size of the dose-response finding. The task was tested as a measurement tool in people without motor impairment, not as a treatment for patients or for fall risk. Only two extreme practice doses were compared, so the study does not identify a useful dose for therapy. Participants who could not speak English were excluded because interpreters were not funded, limiting generalizability.
Declared interests
The authors declared no financial or personal relationships with commercial interests. The publication types list NIH and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the faster step times as proof that this task treats balance or fall risk. The study tested healthy young adults, used extreme practice doses, and measured task learning, not patient outcomes.