Alerting, orienting, and executive control in intellectually gifted children

Sleep problems and duration in school-aged children at different levels of giftedness

OBJECTIVES

Optimal sleep is crucial for developing and maintaining gifted children's cognitive abilities. However, only a few studies have explored the sleep profiles of gifted children and overlooked their internal variations. This study aimed to investigate subjective and object sleep profiles in school-aged gifted children with different levels of giftedness.

METHODS

This study included 80 school-aged children (50 % male) aged 6-11 years. Giftedness was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). Subjective and objective sleep were evaluated using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and Actiwatch 2.

RESULTS

The sample was divided into three groups based on their full scale intelligence quotient (IQ): 16 typically developing children (IQ < 130), 38 moderately gifted children (IQ: 130-145), and 26 highly gifted children (IQ > 145). The highly gifted children had the mildest sleep problems, particularly in sleep duration and daytime sleepiness. Moderately gifted children had the shortest subjective average sleep duration, while the three groups had no significant differences in Actiwatch-measured sleep variables. Furthermore, CSHQ total and daytime sleepiness subscale scores were negatively associated with the full scale IQ in gifted children after controlling for confounders including emotional and behavioral problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with higher levels of giftedness experience fewer subjective sleep problems but have similar objective sleep parameters. It is imperative to implement tailored sleep strategies for fostering intellectual development and nurturing young talents.

Changes in the Networks of Attention across the Lifespan: A Graphical Meta-Analysis

Three Posnerian networks of attention (alerting, orienting, and executive control) have been distinguished on the bases of behavioural, neuropsychological, and neuroscientific evidence. Here, we examined the trajectories of these networks throughout the human lifespan using the various Attention Network Tests (ANTs), which were specifically developed to measure the efficacy of these networks. The ANT Database was used to identify relevant research, resulting in the inclusion of 36 publications. We conducted a graphical meta-analysis using network scores from each study, based on reaction time plotted as a function of age group. Evaluation of attentional networks from childhood to early adulthood suggests that the alerting network develops relatively quickly, and reaches near-adult level by the age of 12. The developmental pattern of the orienting network seems to depend on the information value of the spatial cues. Executive control network scores show a consistent decrease (improvement) with age in childhood. During adulthood (ages 19-75), changes in alerting depend on the modality of the warning signal, while a moderate increase in orienting scores was seen with increasing age. Whereas executive control scores, as measured in reaction time, increase (deterioration) from young adulthood into later adulthood an opposite trend is seen when scores are based on error rates.

Alerting, orienting, and executive control in intellectually gifted children

INTRODUCTION

Intellectually gifted children have higher performance in many domains of attention than intellectually average children. However, these empirical findings are not consistent in the literature. Few studies investigated the characteristics of alerting, orienting, and executive control networks in intellectually gifted children. The aim of our study was to investigate their characteristics of attentional abilities compared to intellectually average children.

METHOD

Fifty-five intellectually gifted children (age range 8-14 years old) were compared to 55 intellectually average children (age range 8-14 years old) using the Attention Network Test (ANT) to assess these three attentional constructs.

RESULTS

Intellectually gifted children made fewer errors than intellectually average children in the processing of the ANT. In terms of attention network scores, they also outperformed intellectually average children in executive control only.

CONCLUSION

Intellectually gifted children do not differ from intellectual average children in terms of the speed of processing in a speeded task such as ANT, but they stand out in terms of accuracy of processing. Intellectually gifted children have better ability to focus volitionally in order to solve a simple perceptual conflict than intellectually average children.