Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 908 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Łuniewska M, Wodniecka Z, Miller CA, Smolík F, Butcher M, Chondrogianni V, et al.
    PLoS One, 2019;14(8):e0220611.
    PMID: 31393919 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220611
    We present a new set of subjective Age of Acquisition (AoA) ratings for 299 words (158 nouns, 141 verbs) in seven languages from various language families and cultural settings: American English, Czech, Scottish Gaelic, Lebanese Arabic, Malaysian Malay, Persian, and Western Armenian. The ratings were collected from a total of 173 participants and were highly reliable in each language. We applied the same method of data collection as used in a previous study on 25 languages which allowed us to create a database of fully comparable AoA ratings of 299 words in 32 languages. We found that in the seven languages not included in the previous study, the words are estimated to be acquired at roughly the same age as in the previously reported languages, i.e. mostly between the ages of 1 and 7 years. We also found that the order of word acquisition is moderately to highly correlated across all 32 languages, which extends our previous conclusion that early words are acquired in similar order across a wide range of languages and cultures.
    Matched MeSH terms: Learning
  2. van Pelt BJ, Idris S, Jagersma G, Duvekot J, Maras A, van der Ende J, et al.
    BMC Psychiatry, 2020 06 01;20(1):274.
    PMID: 32487179 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-020-02650-9
    BACKGROUND: Social skills interventions are commonly deployed for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Because effective and appropriate social skills are determined by cultural factors that differ throughout the world, the effectiveness of these interventions relies on a good cultural fit. Therefore, the ACCEPT study examines the effectiveness of the Dutch Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) social skills intervention.

    METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a two-arm parallel group randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which adolescents are randomly assigned (after baseline assessment) to one of two group interventions (PEERS® vs. active control condition). In total, 150 adolescents are to be included, with multi-informant involvement of their parents and teachers. The ACCEPT study uses an active control condition (puberty psychoeducation group training, focussing on social-emotional development) and explores possible moderators and mediators in improving social skills. The primary outcome measure is the Contextual Assessment of Social Skills (CASS). The CASS assesses social skills performance in a face to face social interaction with an unfamiliar, typically developing peer, making this a valuable instrument to assess the social conversational skills targeted in PEERS®. In addition, to obtain a complete picture of social skills, self-, parent- and teacher-reported social skills are assessed using the Social Skills improvement System (SSiS-RS) and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2). Secondary outcome measures (i.e. explorative mediators) include social knowledge, social cognition, social anxiety, social contacts and feelings of parenting competency of caregivers. Moreover, demographic and diagnostic measures are assessed as potential moderators of treatment effectiveness. Assessments of adolescents, parents, and teachers take place at baseline (week 0), intermediate (week 7), post intervention (week 14), and at follow-up (week 28).

    CONCLUSION: This is the first RCT on the effectiveness of the PEERS® parent-assisted curriculum which includes an active control condition. The outcome of social skills is assessed using observational assessments and multi-informant questionnaires. Additionally, factors related to social learning are assessed at several time points, which will enable us to explore potential mediators and moderators of treatment effect.

    TRAIL REGISTRATION: Dutch trail register NTR6255 (NL6117). Registered February 8th, 2017 - retrospectively registered.

    Matched MeSH terms: Social Learning
  3. Zurni Omar, Mohamed Suleiman
    A new method called parallel R-point explicit block method for solving a single equation of higher order ordinary differential equation directly using a constant step size is developed. This method calculates the numerical solution at R point simultaneously is parallel in nature. Computational advantages are presented by comparing the results obtained with the new method with that of the conventional 1-point method. The numerical results show that the new method reduces the total number of steps and execution time. The accuracy of the parallel block and the conventional 1-point methods is comparable particularly when finer step sizes are used.
    Matched MeSH terms: Learning
  4. Zulkifli MH, Abdullah ZL, Mohamed Yusof NIS, Mohd Fauzi F
    Curr Opin Struct Biol, 2023 Jun;80:102588.
    PMID: 37028096 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2023.102588
    With the availability of public databases that store compound-target/compound-toxicity information, and Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) databases, in silico approaches are used in toxicity studies of TCM herbal medicine. Here, three in silico approaches for toxicity studies were reviewed, which include machine learning, network toxicology and molecular docking. For each method, its application and implementation e.g., single classifier vs. multiple classifier, single compound vs. multiple compounds, validation vs. screening, were explored. While these methods provide data-driven toxicity prediction that is validated in vitro and/or in vivo, it is still limited to single compound analysis. In addition, these methods are limited to several types of toxicity, with hepatotoxicity being the most dominant. Future studies involving the testing of combination of compounds on the front end i.e., to generate data for in silico modeling, and back end i.e., validate findings from prediction models will advance the in silico toxicity modeling of TCM compounds.
    Matched MeSH terms: Machine Learning
  5. Zhou S, Hudin NS
    PLoS One, 2024;19(4):e0299087.
    PMID: 38635519 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299087
    In recent years, the global e-commerce landscape has witnessed rapid growth, with sales reaching a new peak in the past year and expected to rise further in the coming years. Amid this e-commerce boom, accurately predicting user purchase behavior has become crucial for commercial success. We introduce a novel framework integrating three innovative approaches to enhance the prediction model's effectiveness. First, we integrate an event-based timestamp encoding within a time-series attention model, effectively capturing the dynamic and temporal aspects of user behavior. This aspect is often neglected in traditional user purchase prediction methods, leading to suboptimal accuracy. Second, we incorporate Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to analyze user behavior. By modeling users and their actions as nodes and edges within a graph structure, we capture complex relationships and patterns in user behavior more effectively than current models, offering a nuanced and comprehensive analysis. Lastly, our framework transcends traditional learning strategies by implementing advanced meta-learning techniques. This enables the model to autonomously adjust learning parameters, including the learning rate, in response to new and evolving data environments, thereby significantly enhancing its adaptability and learning efficiency. Through extensive experiments on diverse real-world e-commerce datasets, our model demonstrates superior performance, particularly in accuracy and adaptability in large-scale data scenarios. This study not only overcomes the existing challenges in analyzing e-commerce user behavior but also sets a foundation for future exploration in this dynamic field. We believe our contributions provide significant insights and tools for e-commerce platforms to better understand and cater to their users, ultimately driving sales and improving user experiences.
    Matched MeSH terms: Learning*
  6. Zheng S, Rahmat RWO, Khalid F, Nasharuddin NA
    PeerJ Comput Sci, 2019;5:e236.
    PMID: 33816889 DOI: 10.7717/peerj-cs.236
    As the technology for 3D photography has developed rapidly in recent years, an enormous amount of 3D images has been produced, one of the directions of research for which is face recognition. Improving the accuracy of a number of data is crucial in 3D face recognition problems. Traditional machine learning methods can be used to recognize 3D faces, but the face recognition rate has declined rapidly with the increasing number of 3D images. As a result, classifying large amounts of 3D image data is time-consuming, expensive, and inefficient. The deep learning methods have become the focus of attention in the 3D face recognition research. In our experiment, the end-to-end face recognition system based on 3D face texture is proposed, combining the geometric invariants, histogram of oriented gradients and the fine-tuned residual neural networks. The research shows that when the performance is evaluated by the FRGC-v2 dataset, as the fine-tuned ResNet deep neural network layers are increased, the best Top-1 accuracy is up to 98.26% and the Top-2 accuracy is 99.40%. The framework proposed costs less iterations than traditional methods. The analysis suggests that a large number of 3D face data by the proposed recognition framework could significantly improve recognition decisions in realistic 3D face scenarios.
    Matched MeSH terms: Machine Learning
  7. Zhang Y, Feng Y, Ren Z, Zuo R, Zhang T, Li Y, et al.
    Bioresour Technol, 2023 Apr;374:128746.
    PMID: 36813050 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128746
    The ideal conditions for anaerobic digestion experiments with biochar addition are challenging to thoroughly study due to different experimental purposes. Therefore, three tree-based machine learning models were developed to depict the intricate connection between biochar properties and anaerobic digestion. For the methane yield and maximum methane production rate, the gradient boosting decision tree produced R2 values of 0.84 and 0.69, respectively. According to feature analysis, digestion time and particle size had a substantial impact on the methane yield and production rate, respectively. When particle sizes were in the range of 0.3-0.5 mm and the specific surface area was approximately 290 m2/g, corresponding to a range of O content (>31%) and biochar addition (>20 g/L), the maximum promotion of methane yield and maximum methane production rate were attained. Therefore, this study presents new insights into the effects of biochar on anaerobic digestion through tree-based machine learning.
    Matched MeSH terms: Machine Learning
  8. Zhang J, Xiao W, Soh KG, Yao G, Anuar MABM, Bai X, et al.
    BMC Public Health, 2024 Apr 02;24(1):949.
    PMID: 38566018 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18243-0
    BACKGROUND: Evidence indicates that the Sport Education Model (SEM) has demonstrated effectiveness in enhancing students' athletic capabilities and fostering their enthusiasm for sports. Nevertheless, there remains a dearth of comprehensive reviews examining the impact of the SEM on students' attitudes toward physical education learning.

    PURPOSE: The purpose of this review is to elucidate the influence of the SEM on students' attitudes toward physical education learning.

    METHODS: Employing the preferred reporting items of the Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement guidelines, a systematic search of PubMed, SCOPUS, EBSCOhost (SPORTDiscus and CINAHL Plus), and Web of Science databases was conducted in mid-January 2023. A set of keywords associated with the SEM, attitudes toward physical education learning, and students were employed to identify relevant studies. Out of 477 studies, only 13 articles fulfilled all the eligibility criteria and were consequently incorporated into this systematic review. The validated checklist of Downs and Black (1998) was employed for the assessment, and the included studies achieved quality scores ranging from 11 to 13. The ROBINS-I tool was utilized to evaluate the risk of bias in the literature, whereby only one paper exhibited a moderate risk of bias, while the remainder were deemed to have a high risk.

    RESULTS: The findings unveiled significant disparities in cognitive aspects (n = 8) and affective components (n = 12) between the SEM intervention and the Traditional Teaching (TT) comparison. Existing evidence suggests that the majority of scholars concur that the SEM yields significantly superior effects in terms of students' affective and cognitive aspects compared to the TT.

    CONCLUSIONS: Nonetheless, several issues persist, including a lack of data regarding junior high school students and gender differences, insufficient frequency of weekly interventions, inadequate control of inter-group atmosphere disparities resulting from the same teaching setting, lack of reasonable testing, model fidelity check and consideration for regulating variables, of course, learning content, and unsuitable tools for measuring learning attitudes. In contrast, the SEM proves more effective than the TT in enhancing students' attitudes toward physical learning.

    SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: ( https://inplasy.com/ ) (INPLASY2022100040).

    Matched MeSH terms: Learning
  9. Zehra S, Faseeha U, Syed HJ, Samad F, Ibrahim AO, Abulfaraj AW, et al.
    Sensors (Basel), 2023 Jun 05;23(11).
    PMID: 37300067 DOI: 10.3390/s23115340
    Network function virtualization (NFV) is a rapidly growing technology that enables the virtualization of traditional network hardware components, offering benefits such as cost reduction, increased flexibility, and efficient resource utilization. Moreover, NFV plays a crucial role in sensor and IoT networks by ensuring optimal resource usage and effective network management. However, adopting NFV in these networks also brings security challenges that must promptly and effectively address. This survey paper focuses on exploring the security challenges associated with NFV. It proposes the utilization of anomaly detection techniques as a means to mitigate the potential risks of cyber attacks. The research evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of various machine learning-based algorithms for detecting network-based anomalies in NFV networks. By providing insights into the most efficient algorithm for timely and effective anomaly detection in NFV networks, this study aims to assist network administrators and security professionals in enhancing the security of NFV deployments, thus safeguarding the integrity and performance of sensors and IoT systems.
    Matched MeSH terms: Machine Learning*
  10. Zanariah Abdul Majid, Mohamed Suleiman
    Sains Malaysiana, 2011;40:1179-1186.
    Predictor-corrector two point block methods are developed for solving first order ordinary differential equations (ODEs) using variable step size. The method will estimate the solutions of initial value problems (IVPs) at two points simultaneously. The existence multistep method involves the computations of the divided differences and integration coefficients when using the variable step size or variable step size and order. The block method developed will be presented as in the form of Adams Bashforth - Moulton type and the coefficients will be stored in the code. The efficiency of the predictor-corrector block method is compared to the standard variable step and order non block multistep method in terms of total number of steps, maximum error, total function calls and execution times.
    Matched MeSH terms: Learning
  11. Zakaria SF, Awaisu A
    Am J Pharm Educ, 2011 May 10;75(4):75.
    PMID: 21769151
    OBJECTIVE: To implement a shared learning approach through fourth-year students' mentorship of third-year students and to assess the perceptions of the mentored students on the value of their shared learning experience.

    DESIGN: We introduced the shared learning experience in clinical pharmacy and pharmacotherapeutic practice experiences involving 87 third-year and 51 fourth-year students. Both student groups undertook the practice experiences together, with third-year students working in smaller groups mentored by fourth-year students.

    ASSESSMENT: A majority of the students (> 75%) believed that they learned to work as a team during their practice experiences and that the shared learning approach provided an opportunity to practice their communication skills. Similarly, most respondents (> 70%) agreed that the new approach would help them become effective members of the healthcare team and would facilitate their professional relationships in future practice. Almost two-thirds of the students believed that the shared learning enhanced their ability to understand clinical problems. However, about 31% of the pharmacy students felt that they could have learned clinical problem-solving skills equally well working only with peers from their own student group.

    CONCLUSIONS: The pharmacy students in the current study generally believed that the shared-learning approach enhanced their ability to understand clinical problems and improved their communication and teamwork skills. Both groups of students were positive that they had acquired some skills through the shared-learning approach.

    Matched MeSH terms: Learning*
  12. Zakaria NS, Saripan MI, Subarimaniam N, Ismail A
    JMIR Serious Games, 2020 Aug 10;8(3):e18247.
    PMID: 32663153 DOI: 10.2196/18247
    BACKGROUND: Gamification has remarkable potential in the learning space. The process of creating a gamified system and its influence on human behavior reflect the interaction between educators and machines.

    OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this pilot study was to present Ethoshunt as a gamification-based mobile app that can be used in teaching and learning ethics.

    METHODS: This study involved a mixed-methods research design. The researchers surveyed 39 undergraduate students who were introduced to Ethoshunt in order to examine the relationships between mobile app usability and positive emotions, ethical competency, and user experience. Affinity diagramming was used as a tool to organize the opinions and experiences of participants using featured gamification elements.

    RESULTS: Game dynamics and game mechanics explained the functionality of Ethoshunt. In addition, the learning flow through Ethoshunt was discussed. Overall, the findings were positive, and mobile app usability had the strongest relationship with positive emotions (r=0.744, P

    Matched MeSH terms: Spatial Learning
  13. Zakaria N, Jamal A, Bisht S, Koppel C
    Med 2 0, 2013 Nov 27;2(2):e13.
    PMID: 25075236 DOI: 10.2196/med20.2735
    Public universities in Saudi Arabia today are making substantial investments in e-learning as part of their educational system, especially in the implementation of learning management systems (LMS). To our knowledge, this is the first study conducted in Saudi Arabia exploring medical students' experience with an LMS, particularly as part of a medical informatics course.
    Matched MeSH terms: Learning
  14. Zainul Ibrahim Zainuddin
    MyJurnal
    This paper presents a conceptual approach to the integration of Islamic perspectives into a Medical Imaging Curriculum to the concept of Outcome-Based Education (OBE). This work is seen within the context of harmonising Islamic principles to a currently accepted concept in education. Although there have been discussions that question the concept of OBE, this paper contends that the integration can benefit from the practicality aspect of OBE. This can reduce the complexities and fatigue in addressing the integration using an educational approach that is different to that being applied to the human sciences. This paper features the main elements in OBE in the form of Islamic programme educational objectives, Islamic programme outcomes, and Islamic domain learning outcomes. The justification to use domain learning outcomes instead of course learning outcome is given. The teaching and learning strategies, as well as the assessment, are examined through a lens that serves to provide a desirable, practical and holistic model of Islamic integration. It is felt that the currently accepted teaching and assessment methodologies can be adapted for the integration exercise. This work also highlights two often overlooked elements of OBE; teacher and student characteristics. The various terminologies that describe the Islamic teacher characteristics and the differences in student learning styles and preferences are presented. Furthermore, suggestions are made to align the assessment of the integration to various taxonomies of learning, with the aim in evaluating the internalisation of the Islamic essences. This work contents that a holistic approach towards integration of Islamic perspectives into Medical Imaging curriculum can be realised.
    Matched MeSH terms: Learning
  15. Zain MA, Rouhollahi E, Pandy V, Mani V, Majeed ABA, Wong WF, et al.
    Exp Anim, 2018 Nov 01;67(4):421-429.
    PMID: 29731492 DOI: 10.1538/expanim.18-0006
    Phencyclidine (PCP) has been used to model cognitive deficits related to schizophrenia in rats and mice. However, the model in mice is not consistent in terms of the PCP effective dose reported. Furthermore, most of the previous studies in mice excluded the presence of drug washout period in the regime. Thus, we aimed to optimize the dose of PCP in producing robust cognitive deficits by implementing it in a PCP regime which incorporates a drug washout period. The regimen used was 7 days' daily injection of PCP or saline for treatment and vehicle groups, respectively; followed by 24 h drug washout period. After the washout period, the test mice were tested in water maze (5 days of acquisition + 1 day of probe trial) for assessment of spatial learning and memory. Initially, we investigated the effect of PCP at 2mg/kg, however, no apparent impairment in spatial learning and memory was observed. Subsequently, we examined the effect of higher doses of PCP at 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg. We found that the PCP at 10 mg/kg produced a significant increase in "latency to reach the platform" during the acquisition days and a significant increase in "latency of first entry to previous platform" during the probe day. There was no significant change observed in "swim speed" during the test days. Thus, we concluded that PCP at 10 mg/kg produced robust deficits in spatial learning and memory without being confounded by motor disturbances.
    Matched MeSH terms: Spatial Learning/drug effects*
  16. Zain MA, Pandy V, Majeed ABA, Wong WF, Mohamed Z
    Exp Anim, 2019 Feb 26;68(1):113-124.
    PMID: 30393276 DOI: 10.1538/expanim.18-0078
    Chronic stress has been associated with impairment of memory, learning, and social cognition. In animal studies, chronic stress has been shown to impair rodent sociability behaviour which mimics social withdrawal as observed in depression patients. The effect of chronic stress on social recognition, however, is uncertain. Moreover, with reference to spatial learning and memory, the effect of chronic stress is dependent on the type of behavioural task: an appetitively or aversively motivated tasks. The effect of chronic stress was consistent in impairing spatial learning and memory in the appetitive task; however, the effect was inconsistent in an aversive task like the Morris water maze. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effect of chronic restraint stress on sociability and social recognition by using a modified protocol of the three-chamber paradigm and the effect of chronic restraint stress on spatial learning and memory by using the Morris water maze test in young adult C57BL/6J male mice. The present report also describes a modified protocol of the three-chamber paradigm. Our modification is based on measurement of sniffing behaviour, which is a direct social interaction that represents sociability. We used the chronic restraint stress paradigm for 6 h/day for 21 days to induce depression-like symptoms in male C57BL/6J mice which were validated by forced-swim test. We observed that the stressed group had impairments in their sociability behaviour but that social recognition was not affected. Furthermore, we confirmed that chronic stress produced no significant impairment in spatial learning and memory of the mice in the water maze.
    Matched MeSH terms: Spatial Learning
  17. Zain E, Talreja N, Hesarghatta Ramamurthy P, Muzaffar D, Rehman K, Khan AA, et al.
    Eur J Dent Educ, 2024 Feb;28(1):358-369.
    PMID: 37864324 DOI: 10.1111/eje.12957
    INTRODUCTION: Simulation-based education is of paramount importance in a dental pre-clinical setting. Hence, continuous quality improvement is crucial to optimize students' knowledge and clinical skills. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of evidence-based simulation learning (EBSL) compared with traditional-based simulation learning (TBSL) using Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: This quality improvement project was undertaken at a private university. Guided by the PDSA model, rubber dam application tasks were conducted in the simulation lab in 2 phases. Phase 1 included TBSL and phase 2 included EBSL comprising of 2 PDSA cycles. 'Plan' stage involved obtaining feedback from students and the concerned staff. 'Do' stage included implementation of EBSL in eight steps adopted from Higgins's framework. 'Study' stage evaluated the outcomes and in 'Act' stage amendments were made to the first EBSL cycle. In the second PDSA cycle re-implementation and evaluation of the rubber dam application exercises were carried out. Descriptive data were presented as percentages and mean scores were compared using paired t-test.

    RESULTS: Thirty-seven year 2 students participated in this study. A significant improvement in the mean scores was observed between TBSL and EBSL (3.02 + 0.16 and 3.91 + 0.27, respectively, p 

    Matched MeSH terms: Learning
  18. Zahiruddin Othman, Hasanah Che Ismail, Ruzita Jamaluddin, Muhammad Najib Mohamad Alwi
    MyJurnal
    Objective: The present study aims to assess verbal memory performance in patients with schizophrenia attending HUSM and determine the relationship between the patients’ verbal memory performance and their demographic/clinical factors. Methods: A cross sectional study of 114 patients with schizophrenia attending HUSM psychiatric services from December 2007 to May 2008 was conducted. The schizophrenia symptoms as well as verbal memory performance were assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Malay version of the Calgary Depression Scale (MVCDS), and the Malay version of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (MVAVLT). The relationship between verbal memory performance and demographic/clinical symptoms was evaluated using Pearson Correlation. Results: Overall MVAVLT scores in all the trials were lowered in patients with schizophrenia compared to average healthy controls. There were significant relationships between occupational status and MVAVLT performance in Trial A1-A5 Total; between educational level and MVAVLT performance in Trial A1 and Trial A1-A5 Total and between severities of illness and MVAVLT performance in all indexes except Trial A1 after controlled for occupation and
    educational level. Conclusions: Patient with schizophrenia in HUSM performed significantly worse than healthy controls in verbal memory with or without interference. There were significant relationships between MVAVLT performance and patient’s occupational s tatus, educational level and severity of the illness but not depressive symptoms.

    Study site: Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM)
    Matched MeSH terms: Verbal Learning
  19. Zahiruddin Othman, Muhammad Najib Muhammad Alwi, Kamarul Imran Musa, Muhammad Najib Muhammad Alwi, Ruzita Jamaluddin
    ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 2009;10(1):54-74.
    MyJurnal
    Objective: Many studies have emphasized the significance of verbal memory for the functional outcome in schizophrenia. A preserved capability to encode and recall verbal information is essential for the long-term efficacy of psychoeducational programs and other
    psychological intervention to ensure the successful transfer of newly acquired skills or knowledge into everyday life. Aims of this study aimed to validate the MVALT among schizophrenia patients in HUSM. Methods: The subjects were 15 schizophrenia patients
    conveniently selected from the patients that attended follow up at the psychiatry clinic in HUSM or inpatients who have been admitted during the study period and 15 healthy control subjects as a comparison. Reliability and validity of the MVAVLT were analyzed. Results: The validation study showed that the Malay version Auditory Verbal Learning Test (MVAVLT) had a good validity (factor analysis 0.66 to 0.98) and test-retest reliability (pearson correlation ranged from 0.24 to 0.84) and has been shown to be sensitive in
    discriminating between normal and schizophrenia patients. In line with the previous research, the schizophrenia patients performed significantly worse than healthy control in all indexes measured in MVAVLT. Conclusion: The screening of deficits in verbal learning
    and memory among the schizophrenia patients is important, for early detection and treatment since it can be helpful for clinicians and psychologists in their counseling sessions. Subsequently, it helps patients to reduce such cognitive difficulties and their impact by using specific rehabilitation with the usage of newer antipsychotic agents.
    Matched MeSH terms: Verbal Learning
  20. Zahiri N, Abollahi I, Nabavi SM, Ehsani F, Arab AM, Shaw I, et al.
    Malays J Med Sci, 2017 Mar;24(1):69-80.
    PMID: 28381930 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2017.24.1.8
    BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most widespread disabling neurological condition in young adults around the world. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of explicit information (EI) on motor-sequence learning in MS patients.

    METHODS: Thirty patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), age: 29.5 (SD = 5.6) years and 30 healthy gender-, age-, and education-matched control group participants, age: 28.8 (SD = 6.0) years, were recruited for this study. The participants in the healthy group were then randomly assigned into an EI (n = 15) group and a no-EI (n = 15) group. Similarly, the participants in the control group were then randomly assigned into EI (n = 15) and no-EI (n = 15) groups. The participants performed a serial reaction time (SRT) task and reaction times. A retention test was performed after 48 hours.

    RESULTS: All participants reduced their reaction times across acquisition (MS group: 46.4 (SD = 3.3) minutes, P < 0.001, and healthy group: 39.4 (SD = 3.3) minutes, P < 0.001). The findings for the within-participants effect of repeated measures of time were significant (F(5.06, 283.7) = 71.33. P < 0.001). These results indicate that the interaction between group and time was significant (F(5.06, 283.7) = 6.44. P < 0.001), which indicated that the reaction time in both groups was significantly changed between the MS and healthy groups across times (B1 to B10). The main effect of the group (MS and healthy) (F(1, 56) = 22.78. P < 0.001) and also the main effect of no-EI vs EI (F(1, 56) = 4.71. P < 0.001) were significant.

    CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that that RRMS patients are capable of learning new skills, but the provision of EI prior to physical practice is deleterious to implicit learning. It is sufficient to educate MS patients on the aim and general content of the training and only to provide feedback at the end of the rehabilitative session.

    Matched MeSH terms: Learning
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links