Myth, busted: Children are not quicker at picking up new motor skills than adults

Contrary to popular belief, children aren’t better at learning new skills than adults, new research from the University of Copenhagen has shown. 

In fact, young adults were found to be able to learn more quickly than children, but in turn also tended to forget more quickly.

The popular notion of a pre-pubescent motor learning peak prompted the researchers to investigate how age-related differences in the central nervous system affect motor skill learning. To do this the researchers tested the motor learning abilities of 132 participants from four age groups: 8-10 years, 12-14 years, 16-18 years, and 20-30 years. In a lab setting, participants practiced moving a cursor on a computer screen with fast and precise finger movements.

Participant performance was measured immediately after being introduced to the task (as a baseline), during the training session, and again 24 hours later. 

To account for the initially better performance and greater improvements among adults compared to the youngest children, the researchers conducted control experiments making the task more challenging for adults to match an 8-10-year-old’s level. 

Even with this adjustment, adults showed more improvement within the training session, while the children’s memory benefited more from the hours following the training, including sleep.

During the training session itself, both the 16-18-year-olds and 20-30-year-olds improved their skills significantly more than the 8-10-year-olds.

“There’s an assumption in popular science literature and various textbooks that children in a certain age range (roughly eight years of age until puberty) are better at learning new skills than adults,” Associate Professor Jesper Lundbye-Jensen explained. 

Researchers quashed this assumption, with their work showing that both teenagers and younger adults are better equipped to quickly acquire new skills compared to children, who showed smaller and slower improvements, at least when it comes to short-term learning and motor skills which this study investigated, lead author Mikkel Malling Beck explained. 

While the researchers cannot pinpoint the exact reasons for why the adults learn faster, they have a few theories.

“The results demonstrate that the older the participants are, the more skillful they become during the early stages of training. This suggests that they get more out of the task introduction. We suspect that cognitive development and an increased ability to process information play a role – meaning adults may have more experience receiving instructions and translating them into action,” AP Lundbye-Jensen added.

“The difference may also be because the fully developed nervous system of an adult provides better structural conditions for learning. In other words, after many years of schooling, adults may be more experienced learners and thereby more efficient at learning new things.”

Children benefit more from sleep

The picture changes when it comes to retention:

“When we look at what happens from the end of training until the participants return the next day, the dynamic reverses. While the youngest participants actually improve overnight, adults lose some of their ability to perform. This means the youngest ones are better at consolidating and reinforcing their memory after they’ve practiced,” Mikkel Malling Beck said.

According to the researchers, this suggests that sleep benefits children’s learning and memory more. But other factors could also be at play. For example, older children and adults typically sleep less and have more “competing” activities throughout the day. Memory-consolidation processes in the nervous system continue for hours after the training ends.

“When a math class ends, the brain keeps working on what was taught, and in doing so, reinforces memory. Sleep is known to aid consolidation. But engaging in other activities in the hours after –especially those that involve learning – can interfere with memory processes and the consolidation of what was just learned,” AP Lundbye-Jensen added.

Potential applications for professionals

While the overall learning outcome doesn’t vary drastically across age groups, the study does show that the learning process differs significantly depending on age, with underlying mechanisms influenced by the maturity of one’s central nervous system.

According to the researchers, the results could be useful in teaching and training fields that involve skill and movement, such as sports and music. AP Lundbye-Jensen points out that the results are relevant in other areas as well:

“For anyone aiming to improve their skills, it’s crucial to structure training so that each individual gets the most out of their time. This is also true for people undergoing rehabilitation to regain functional ability. We hope that this new understanding of age-related differences and post-training processes will inspire physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and other professionals when designing training protocols.”

Access the study here.