The roles of motor activity and environmental enrichment in intellectual disability

Abstract

In people with intellectual disabilities, an enriched environment can stimulate the acquisition of motor skills and could partially repair neuronal impairment thanks to exploration and motor activity. A deficit in environmental and motor stimulation leads to low scores in intelligence tests and can cause serious motor skill problems. Although studies in humans do not give much evidence for explaining basic mechanisms of intellectual disability and for highlighting improvements due to enriched environmental stimulation, animal models have been valuable in the investigation of these conditions. Here, we discuss the role of environmental enrichment in four intellectual disabilities: Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), Down, Rett, and Fragile X syndromes.

Keywords:

• Environmental enrichment
• intellectual disability
• motor skill

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to express his most sincere gratitude to Alberto Granato for his excellent guidance throughout these years; Silvia Lo Giudice for her grammar check and Marta Varsalona for her support.

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest.