The Effects of Proprioception on Memory: a Study of Proprioceptive Errors and Results from the Rey-osterrieth Complex Figure in a Healthy Population

The aim of the current study was to test whether or not proprioceptive errors (biases) are associated with visual memory performance, and to distinguish which movement types are more important in this relationship. The study included 63 pupils with normal vision, including 49 pupils from a conventional school and 14 pupils from a school for slower children. We used the Proprioceptive Diagnosis (PD) test based on fine motor performance without self-body vision and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure. Errors in different movement types were checked for Pearson correlation with ROCF test results. Linear regression analysis was performed to confirm whether or not the variables of ROCF depended linearly on specific proprioceptive indicators. The findings show that proprioception has effects on memory. Negative correlations of medium significance were found between Frontal Directional (FD), Sagittal Directional (SD) and Sagittal Line Length (SLL) movement types on the PD and Immediate memory on the ROCF, and between SLL movement type on the PD and Delayed Memory and Recognition on the ROCF. Significant correlations for directional deviations were found for the non-dominant hand, while for line length they were found for the dominant hand. Proprioception has a significant effect on cognitive performance. A specific movement type – sagittal line length (SLL) deviation of the dominant hand – had a significant influence on immediate and delayed memory, as well as recognition. These findings confirm a significant relationship between proprioceptive information in behavior and cognition performance (in this case, visual memory).