The variability of practice hypothesis in motor learning: Does it apply toAlzheimer's disease?

Based on Schmidt's ( 1975) variability of practice hypothesis, this study e xamined acquisition and transfer of a gross motor skill, namely tossing, in 58 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 58 healthy older adults unde r constant, blocked, and random practice conditions. While healthy older ad ults were able to learn the tossing task equally well under the three pract ice conditions, only AD patients receiving constant practice showed signifi cant improvements. Tests of intermediate transfer yielded the expected rand om practice advantage in healthy controls but not AT) patients. None of the practice conditions facilitated intermediate transfer in AD patients; howe ver, constant practice did benefit these impaired individuals on tests of n ear transfer. These results indicate that the variability of practice hypot hesis does not extend to AD patients. As motor learning and transfer were c learly a function of constant practice, future attempts to retrain basic ac tivities of daily living in AD patients should emphasize consistency in tra ining, (C) 2000 Academic Press.