Abstract

POSSEBOM, Weliton Folli et al. Maze computer performance in Down syndrome. J. Hum. Growth Dev. [online]. 2016, vol.26, n.2, pp. 205-210. ISSN 0104-1282.  http://dx.doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.119273.

INTRODUCTION: These changes are the main causes of deficits in perceptual-motor skills responsible for motor skill acquisition and performance of functional activities. : The current study aimed at verifying the quantitative performance of people with DS in undertaking a computer task to compare the performances of typical development (TD). METHODS: 60 subjects participated in the study, 30 with Down's syndrome and 30 with typical development, matched by sex. Individuals were aged from 10-36. The groups were divided into three subgroups by age: Group 1 (G1) 10-18; Group 2 (G2) 18-25; Group 3 (G3) 25-36. They performed a computer maze task. During the acquisition phase all groups attempted the maze 30 times, and then after 5 minutes they performed 5 repetitions of Maze 1 for the retention phase. Finally, for the transfer phase, they performed five repetitions in Maze 2. The dependent variables were submitted to a group, age group, gender and block ANOVA with repeated measures on the last factor. RESULTS: In acquisition phase there was a significant decrease in movement time (MT) between the first and last acquisition block, but only for the DS-group. In retention, there was a significant effect of Group, and an interaction between Block and Group, indicating that MTs increased from retention to transfer, but only for the DS-group. : It was found that participants with DS improved performance during acquisition and retention, but they had difficulty in performing the transfer of the computational task for a similar situation. The age and gender were not significant in any of the stages of the study.

Keywords : computer task; motor learning; Down's syndrome.

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