The relation of White Matter Hyperintensities to implicit learning in healthy older adults

Objective This study examined whether MRI evidence of cerebrovascular disease in the form of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) was associated with decreased implicit sequence learning performance in a high-functioning group of normal elderly volunteers. Method One hundred and eight community-dwelling elderly individuals received an MRI and performed an implicit sequence learning task, the serial reaction time (SRT) task. Results Hyperintensities present in the white matter were associated with a decreased learning effect. This association was found with both deep white matter and periventricular changes. Other factors affecting SRT performance (i.e., baseline reaction time and switch-cost) were not significantly related to the presence of WMH. Conclusions The results indicate that in addition to previously identified generalized cognitive deficits, WMH are also associated with a specific decrease in the implicit learning of sequences. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.