[Age-related and gender differences in conslidation of implicit sequence learning between 7 and 29 years of age].

Introduction: Extracting and acquiring sequential regularities from the environment is a fundamental human ability that underlies the acquisition of various motor, social and cognitive skills. As psychiatric rehabilitation often depends on the integrity of these skills, it is crucial to understand individual differences in sequence learning. Here we aimed to test age- and gender-related differences in sequence learning as well as in the consolidation of the acquired knowledge.

Methods: In the present study we aimed to characterize age-related and gender differences in the consolidation of implicitly acquired sequential memories between 7 and 29 years of age (N = 261). Participants were clustered into six age groups. The Alternating Serial Reaction Time (ASRT) task was used to measure implicit sequence learning. Participants were retested 24 hours after the learning phase.

Results: In the learning phase, implicit sequence learning showed a gradually declining pattern across age groups with children exhibiting the best learning performance, which is consistent with previous studies. Regarding consolidation, we found retention of implicit sequential memories in all age groups, with no age-related differences. We found no gender differences in the acquisition of sequential memories but gender differences emerged after the consolidation: male participants showed somewhat better performance in terms of accuracy compared to the female participants.

Conclusion: Our study explores implicit sequence learning and consolidation in a relatively wide age range and can contribute to the development and testing of alternative methods in age-specific psychiatric rehabilitation.