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Vijayarajah S, Schlichting ML. Developmental refinements to neural attentional state during semantic memory retrieval through adolescence. Cortex 2024; 176:77-93. [PMID: 38761418 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
Despite the fact that attention undergoes protracted development, little is known about how it may support memory refinements in childhood and adolescence. Here, we asked whether people differentially focus their attention on semantic or perceptual information over development during memory retrieval. First, we trained a multivoxel classifier to characterize whole-brain neural patterns reflecting semantic versus perceptual attention in a cued attention task. We then used this classifier to quantify how attention varied in a separate dataset in which children, adolescents, and adults retrieved autobiographical, semantic, and episodic memories. All age groups demonstrated a semantic attentional bias during memory retrieval, with significant age differences in this bias during the semantic task. Trials began with a preparatory picture cue followed by a retrieval question, which allowed us to ask whether attentional biases varied by trial period. Adults showed a semantic bias earlier during the picture cues, whereas adolescents showed this bias during the question. Adults and adolescents also engaged different brain regions-superior parietal cortex and ventral visual regions, respectively-during preparatory picture cues. Our results demonstrate that retrieval-related attention undergoes refinement beyond childhood. These findings suggest that alongside expanding semantic knowledge, attention-related changes may support the maturation of factual knowledge retrieval.
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Kim J, Singh S, Vales C, Keebler E, Fisher AV, Thiessen ED. Staying and Returning dynamics of young children's attention. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13410. [PMID: 37211716 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we decompose selective sustained attending behavior into components of continuous attention maintenance and attentional transitions and study how each of these components develops in young children. Our results in two experiments suggest that changes in children's ability to return attention to a target locus after distraction ("Returning") play a crucial role in the development of selective sustained attention between the ages of 3.5-6 years, perhaps to a greater extent than changes in the ability to continuously maintain attention on the target ("Staying"). We further distinguish Returning from the behavior of transitioning attention away from task (i.e., becoming distracted) and investigate the relative contributions of bottom-up and top-down factors on these different types of attentional transitions. Overall, these results (a) suggest the importance of understanding the cognitive process of transitioning attention for understanding selective sustained attention and its development, (b) provide an empirical paradigm within which to study this process, and (c) begin to characterize basic features of this process, namely its development and its relative dependence on top-down and bottom-up influences on attention. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Young children exhibited an endogenously ability, Returning, to preferentially transition attention to task-relevant information over task-irrelevant information. Selective sustained attention and its development were decomposed into Returning and Staying, or task-selective attention maintenance, using novel eye-tracking-based measures. Returning improved between the ages of 3.5-6 years, to a greater extent than Staying. Improvements in Returning supported improvements in selective sustained attention between these ages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaeah Kim
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Shashank Singh
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Catarina Vales
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Emily Keebler
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Anna V Fisher
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Erik D Thiessen
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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Lundwall RA. Visual reflexive attention as a useful measure of development. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1206045. [PMID: 37680236 PMCID: PMC10482252 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1206045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive psychology began over three-quarters of a century ago and we have learned a great deal in that time, including concerning the development of cognitive abilities such as perception, attention, and memory, all of which develop across infancy and childhood. Attention is one aspect of cognition that is vital to success in a variety of life activities and, arguably, the foundation of memory, learning, problem solving, decision making, and other cognitive activities. The cognitive abilities of later childhood and adulthood generally appear to depend on the reflexes, abilities, and skills of infancy. Research in developmental cognitive science can help us understand adult cognition and know when to intervene when cognitive function is at risk. This area of research can be challenging because, even in typical development, the course of cognitive development for a particular child does not always improve monotonically. In addition, the typical trajectory of this development has been understood differently from different historical perspectives. Neither the history of thought that has led to our current understanding of attention (including its various types) nor the importance of developmental aspects of attention are frequently covered in training early career researchers, especially those whose primary area of research in not attention. My goal is to provide a review that will be useful especially to those new to research in the subfield of attention. Sustained attention in adults and children has been well-studied, but a review of the history of thought on the development of reflexive attention with a focus on infancy is overdue. Therefore, I draw primarily on historical and modern literature and clarify confusing terminology as it has been used over time. I conclude with examples of how cognitive development research can contribute to scientific and applied progress.
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King J, Marcus T, Markant J. Individual differences in selective attention and engagement shape students’ learning from visual cues and instructor presence during online lessons. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5075. [PMID: 36977822 PMCID: PMC10047463 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32069-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
AbstractAlthough some researchers recommend minimizing extraneous visual information in multimedia lessons, others have demonstrated that features such as visual cues and instructor videos can enhance learning. However, variability in selective attention skills may influence students’ ability to benefit from these additional features. This study investigated links between college students’ selective attention skills and their learning from video lessons that varied in the use of visual cues and the instructor video. Learning outcomes depended on both the visual features available and students’ effort and selective attention skills. Among students who reported increased effort during the lessons, those with more efficient selective attention benefited most when a single additional feature (i.e., either visual cues or the instructor video) was used. All students, regardless of attention skills, benefited when both visual cues and the instructor were combined. These findings suggest that learning during multimedia lessons may depend on the visual features of the lessons and the student’s effort and attention skills.
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Kyriakopoulou V, Davidson A, Chew A, Gupta N, Arichi T, Nosarti C, Rutherford MA. Characterisation of ASD traits among a cohort of children with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1550. [PMID: 36941265 PMCID: PMC10027681 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37242-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Fetal ventriculomegaly is the most common antenatally-diagnosed brain abnormality. Imaging studies in antenatal isolated ventriculomegaly demonstrate enlarged ventricles and cortical overgrowth which are also present in children with autism-spectrum disorder/condition (ASD). We investigate the presence of ASD traits in a cohort of children (n = 24 [20 males/4 females]) with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly, compared with 10 controls (n = 10 [6 males/4 females]). Neurodevelopmental outcome at school age included IQ, ASD traits (ADOS-2), sustained attention, neurological functioning, behaviour, executive function, sensory processing, co-ordination, and adaptive behaviours. Pre-school language development was assessed at 2 years. 37.5% of children, all male, in the ventriculomegaly cohort scored above threshold for autism/ASD classification. Pre-school language delay predicted an ADOS-2 autism/ASD classification with 73.3% specificity/66.7% sensitivity. Greater pre-school language delay was associated with more ASD symptoms. In this study, the neurodevelopment of children with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly, associated with altered cortical development, includes ASD traits, difficulties in sustained attention, working memory and sensation-seeking behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Kyriakopoulou
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Alice Davidson
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Andrew Chew
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Nidhi Gupta
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Paediatric Neurosciences, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Tomoki Arichi
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Paediatric Neurosciences, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Chiara Nosarti
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Mary A Rutherford
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, UK
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Dys SP, Jambon M, Buono S, Malti T. Attentional Control Moderates the Relation between Sympathy and Ethical Guilt. J Genet Psychol 2023; 184:198-211. [PMID: 36803666 DOI: 10.1080/00221325.2023.2177522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
Abstract
In response to ethical transgressions, some children respond with ethical guilt (e.g., remorse), while others do not. The affective and cognitive precursors of ethical guilt have been widely studied on their own, however, few studies have looked at the interaction of affective (e.g., sympathy) and cognitive (e.g., attention) precursors on ethical guilt. This study examined the effects of children's sympathy, attentional control, and their interaction on 4 and 6-year-old children's ethical guilt. A sample of 118 children (50% girls, 4-year-olds: Mage = 4.58, SD = .24, n = 57; 6-year-old: Mage = 6.52, SD = .33, n = 61) completed an attentional control task and provided self-reports of dispositional sympathy and ethical guilt in response to hypothetical ethical violations. Sympathy and attentional control were not directly associated with ethical guilt. Attentional control, however, moderated the relation between sympathy and ethical guilt, such that sympathy was more strongly related to ethical guilt at increasing levels of attentional control. This interaction did not differ between 4- and 6-year-olds or boys and girls. These findings illustrate an interaction between emotion and cognitive processes and suggest that promoting children's ethical development may require a focus on both attentional control and sympathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian P Dys
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Marc Jambon
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Stephanie Buono
- Department of Applied Psychology, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Tina Malti
- Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Pomper R, McGregor KK, Arbisi-Kelm T, Eden N, Ohlmann N. Direct Instruction Improves Word Learning for Children With Developmental Language Disorder. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2022; 65:4228-4249. [PMID: 36342854 PMCID: PMC9940895 DOI: 10.1044/2022_jslhr-22-00300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The current study compared the effects of direct instruction versus indirect exposure on multiple aspects of novel word learning for children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and children with typical language development (TLD). METHOD Participants included 36 children with DLD and 45 children with TLD. All children were in the first grade and 6-8 years of age (Mdn = 7 years; 2 months). Using a between-subjects design, children were randomly assigned to be exposed to novel words and their unfamiliar referents via either direct instruction (each referent presented in isolation with an explicit goal of learning) or indirect exposure (multiple referents presented with the goal of answering yes/no questions). RESULTS In alternative forced-choice measures of recognition, children with DLD were less accurate than their TLD peers in linking words to referents, encoding semantic categories for words, and encoding detailed representations of word forms. These differences in word learning were accounted for by a constellation of cognitive measures, including receptive vocabulary, phonological memory, visuospatial memory, and sustained attention. All children were similarly accurate in retaining word forms over a 24- to 48-hr delay. Children with TLD were more accurate in all aspects of word learning following direct instruction compared to indirect exposure. Benefits from direct instruction were observed for children with DLD in link and semantic, but not word form, learning. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that vocabulary interventions with direct instruction can help children with DLD learn some, but not all, aspects of novel words. Additional support is necessary to help children with DLD encode rich phonological representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ron Pomper
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital, NE
| | - Karla K. McGregor
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital, NE
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Iowa, Iowa City
| | - Timothy Arbisi-Kelm
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital, NE
| | - Nichole Eden
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital, NE
| | - Nancy Ohlmann
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital, NE
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McGregor KK, Smolak E, Jones M, Oleson J, Eden N, Arbisi-Kelm T, Pomper R. What Children with Developmental Language Disorder Teach Us About Cross-Situational Word Learning. Cogn Sci 2022; 46:e13094. [PMID: 35122309 PMCID: PMC9285947 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) served as a test case for determining the role of extant vocabulary knowledge, endogenous attention, and phonological working memory abilities in cross‐situational word learning. First‐graders (Mage = 7 years; 3 months), 44 with typical development (TD) and 28 with DLD, completed a cross‐situational word‐learning task comprised six cycles, followed by retention tests and independent assessments of attention, memory, and vocabulary. Children with DLD scored lower than those with TD on all measures of learning and retention, a performance gap that emerged in the first cycle of the cross‐situational protocol and that we attribute to weaknesses in initial encoding. Over cycles, children with DLD learned words at a similar rate as their TD peers but they were less flexible in their strategy use, demonstrating a propose‐but‐verify approach but never a statistical aggregation approach. Also, they drew upon different mechanisms to support their learning. Attention played a greater role for the children with DLD, whereas extant vocabulary size played a greater role for the children with TD. Children navigate the problem space of cross‐situational learning via varied routes. This conclusion is offered as motivation for theorists to capture all learners, not just the most typical ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karla K McGregor
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital.,Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa
| | - Erin Smolak
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital
| | | | | | - Nichole Eden
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital
| | - Timothy Arbisi-Kelm
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital
| | - Ronald Pomper
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital
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9
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King J, Markant J. Selective attention to lesson‐relevant contextual information promotes 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children's learning. Dev Sci 2022; 25:e13237. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.13237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jill King
- Neuroscience Program Tulane University New Orleans Louisiana 70118
- Tulane Brain Institute Tulane University New Orleans Louisiana 70118
| | - Julie Markant
- Department of Psychology Tulane University New Orleans Louisiana 70118
- Tulane Brain Institute Tulane University New Orleans Louisiana 70118
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10
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Vales C, Wu C, Torrance J, Shannon H, States SL, Fisher AV. Research at a Distance: Replicating Semantic Differentiation Effects Using Remote Data Collection With Children Participants. Front Psychol 2021; 12:697550. [PMID: 34421748 PMCID: PMC8377201 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.697550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Remote data collection procedures can strengthen developmental science by addressing current limitations to in-person data collection and helping recruit more diverse and larger samples of participants. Thus, remote data collection opens an opportunity for more equitable and more replicable developmental science. However, it remains an open question whether remote data collection procedures with children participants produce results comparable to those obtained using in-person data collection. This knowledge is critical to integrate results across studies using different data collection procedures. We developed novel web-based versions of two tasks that have been used in prior work with 4-6-year-old children and recruited children who were participating in a virtual enrichment program. We report the first successful remote replication of two key experimental effects that speak to the emergence of structured semantic representations (N = 52) and their role in inferential reasoning (N = 40). We discuss the implications of these findings for using remote data collection with children participants, for maintaining research collaborations with community settings, and for strengthening methodological practices in developmental science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catarina Vales
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Christine Wu
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Jennifer Torrance
- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Heather Shannon
- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Sarah L. States
- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Anna V. Fisher
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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11
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Hasan F, Jirout J, Garzione S, Kranz S. Changes in Learning Outcomes after Dietary Intervention in Preschoolers: A Pilot Study. Nutrients 2021; 13:1797. [PMID: 34070396 PMCID: PMC8230330 DOI: 10.3390/nu13061797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The executive functioning skill set, which includes working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control, begins developing in early life and continues into adulthood. Preschoolers' abilities to perform those skills may be influenced by diet. The purpose of this study was to explore the acute effects of consuming a low-GI diet compared to the usual childcare diet on preschoolers' self-reported feelings of hunger and fullness and their performance on learning-associated tasks. This study was a prospective feeding trial in n = 20 children 3-4 years of age, completed in a laboratory setting where children attended "day camps" and consumed two days of usual diet (CON) and two days of low-GI (INT) diet. Learning outcomes were evaluated using select learning assessments including the Kansas Reflection-Impulsivity Scale for Preschoolers (KRISP), Track-it, Peg Tapping, and Happy/Sad. Repeated measures, full-factorial analysis of covariance revealed that diet was significantly related to impulsivity (p > 0.05), and univariate analysis of variance indicated that feelings of hunger and fullness differentially affected cognitive constructs in that feeling full improved impulsivity and attention, while feeling hungry improved inhibitory control. These findings highlight that the connection between diet and learning-related skills of children are independently mediated by both diet composition and feelings of hunger and fullness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faten Hasan
- Department of Kinesiology, School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA;
| | - Jamie Jirout
- Department of Education, Development, Leadership and Foundations, School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA;
| | - Sarah Garzione
- College of Arts and Sciences, Formerly University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA;
| | - Sibylle Kranz
- Department of Kinesiology, School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA;
- Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
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12
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Smolak E, McGregor KK, Arbisi-Kelm T, Eden N. Sustained Attention in Developmental Language Disorder and Its Relation to Working Memory and Language. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2020; 63:4096-4108. [PMID: 33166200 PMCID: PMC8608174 DOI: 10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/29/2020] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Based on evidence of deficits in domain-general cognitive abilities associated with developmental language disorder (DLD), the current study examined sustained attention performance in children with DLD compared to children with typical language development (TLD) and the interrelations between visual-spatial sustained attention, visual-spatial working memory, and language abilities across groups. Method Participants included 67 children at 7 years of age: 25 children with DLD (13 girls and 12 boys) and 42 children with TLD (23 girls and 19 boys). We assessed children's visual-spatial sustained attention, visual-spatial working memory, and language ability on a test of narrative language. Result Children with DLD scored significantly below their peers on a measure of visual-spatial sustained attention. Significant intercorrelations were observed between sustained attention, working memory, and language ability within the DLD group, but no correlations were observed between these measures in the TLD group. Conclusion Children with DLD have domain-general deficits in sustained attention, and correlational results have implications for whether and how language abilities are supported by domain-general cognition in both typical and disordered development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Smolak
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE
| | - Karla K. McGregor
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Iowa, Iowa City
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A hidden Markov model for analyzing eye-tracking of moving objects : Case study in a sustained attention paradigm. Behav Res Methods 2020; 52:1225-1243. [PMID: 31898297 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-019-01313-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Eye-tracking provides an opportunity to generate and analyze high-density data relevant to understanding cognition. However, while events in the real world are often dynamic, eye-tracking paradigms are typically limited to assessing gaze toward static objects. In this study, we propose a generative framework, based on a hidden Markov model (HMM), for using eye-tracking data to analyze behavior in the context of multiple moving objects of interest. We apply this framework to analyze data from a recent visual object tracking task paradigm, TrackIt, for studying selective sustained attention in children. Within this paradigm, we present two validation experiments to show that the HMM provides a viable approach to studying eye-tracking data with moving stimuli, and to illustrate the benefits of the HMM approach over some more naive possible approaches. The first experiment utilizes a novel 'supervised' variant of TrackIt, while the second compares directly with judgments made by human coders using data from the original TrackIt task. Our results suggest that the HMM-based method provides a robust analysis of eye-tracking data with moving stimuli, both for adults and for children as young as 3.5-6 years old.
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14
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Wagovich SA, Anderson JD, Hill MS. Visual exogenous and endogenous attention and visual memory in preschool children who stutter. JOURNAL OF FLUENCY DISORDERS 2020; 66:105792. [PMID: 33032169 PMCID: PMC7704769 DOI: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2020.105792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Attention develops gradually from infancy to the preschool years and beyond. Exogenous attention, consisting of automatic responses to salient stimuli, develops in infancy, whereas endogenous attention, or voluntary attention, begins to develop later, in the preschool years. The purpose of this study was to examine (a) exogenous and endogenous attention in young children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS) through two conditions of a visual sustained selective attention task, and (b) visual short-term memory (STM) between groups within the context of this task. METHOD 42 CWS and 42 CWNS, ages 3;0-5;5 (years;months), were pair-matched in age, gender (31 males, 11 females per group), and socioeconomic status. Children completed a visual tracking task (Track-It Task; Fisher et al., 2013) requiring sustained selective attention and engaging exogenous and endogenous processes. Following each item, children were asked to recall the item they had tracked, as a memory check. RESULTS The CWS group demonstrated significantly less accuracy in overall tracking and visual memory for the tracked stimuli, compared to the CWNS group. Across groups, the children performed better in sustained selective attention when the target stimuli were more salient (the condition tapping both exogenous and endogenous attention) than when stimuli were less so (the condition tapping primarily endogenous processes). CONCLUSIONS Relative to peers, preschool-age CWS, as a group, display weaknesses in visual sustained selective attention and visual STM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy A Wagovich
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Missouri, United States.
| | - Julie D Anderson
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, United States
| | - Margaret S Hill
- Department of Applied Clinical and Educational Sciences, Indiana State University, United States
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15
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D’Angiulli A, Pham DAT, Leisman G, Goldfield G. Evaluating Preschool Visual Attentional Selective-Set: Preliminary ERP Modeling and Simulation of Target Enhancement Homology. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10020124. [PMID: 32098390 PMCID: PMC7071495 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10020124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2019] [Revised: 02/15/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We reanalyzed, modeled and simulated Event-Related Potential (ERP) data from 13 healthy children (Mean age = 5.12, Standard Deviation = 0.75) during a computerized visual sustained target detection task. Extending an ERP-based ACT–R (Adaptive Control of Thought–Rational) neurocognitive modeling approach, we tested whether visual sustained selective-set attention in preschool children involves the enhancement of neural response to targets, and it shows key adult-like features (neurofunctional homology). Blinded automatic peaks analysis was conducted on vincentized binned grand ERP averages. Time-course and distribution of scalp activity were detailed through topographic mapping and paths analysis. Reaction times and accuracy were also measured. Adult Magnetic Resonance Imaging-based mapping using ACT–R dipole source modeling and electric-field spiking simulation provided very good fit with the actual ERP data (R2 > 0.70). In most electrodes, between 50 and 400 ms, ERPs concurrent with target presentation were enhanced relative to distractor, without manual response confounds. Triangulation of peak analysis, ACT–R modeling and simulation for the entire ERP epochs up to the moment of manual response (~700 ms, on average) suggested converging evidence of distinct but interacting processes of enhancement and planning for response release/inhibition, respectively. The latter involved functions and structures consistent with adult ERP activity which might correspond to a large-scale network, implicating Dorsal and Ventral Attentional Networks, corticostriatal loops, and subcortical hubs connected to prefrontal cortex top-down working memory executive control. Although preliminary, the present approach suggests novel directions for further tests and falsifiable hypotheses on the origins and development of visual selective attention and their ERP correlates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amedeo D’Angiulli
- Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada
- Neuroscience of Imagination, Cognition & Emotion Research (NICER) Lab, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada;
- Correspondence:
| | - Dao Anh Thu Pham
- Neuroscience of Imagination, Cognition & Emotion Research (NICER) Lab, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada;
- Department of Systems and Computer Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Gerry Leisman
- Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel;
| | - Gary Goldfield
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada;
- Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON K1H 5B2, Canada
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16
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Godwin KE, Erickson LC, Newman RS. Insights From Crossing Research Silos on Visual and Auditory Attention. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2019; 28:47-52. [PMID: 31217671 DOI: 10.1177/0963721418807725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Many learning tasks that children encounter necessitate the ability to direct and sustain attention to key aspects of the environment while simultaneously tuning out irrelevant features. This is challenging for at least two reasons: (a) The ability to regulate and sustain attention follows a protracted developmental time course, and (b) children spend much of their time in environments not optimized for learning-homes and schools are often chaotic, cluttered, and noisy. Research on these issues is often siloed; that is, researchers tend to examine the relationship among attention, distraction, and learning in only the auditory or the visual domain, but not both together. We provide examples in which auditory and visual aspects of learning each have strong implications for the other. Research examining how visual information and auditory information are distracting can benefit from cross-fertilization. Integrating across research silos informs our understanding of attention and learning, yielding more efficacious guidance for caregivers, educators, developers, and policymakers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lucy C Erickson
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland
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17
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Fisher AV. Selective sustained attention: a developmental foundation for cognition. Curr Opin Psychol 2019; 29:248-253. [PMID: 31284233 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2018] [Revised: 06/04/2019] [Accepted: 06/10/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Higher-order cognition, particularly in real-life settings, often requires that parts of the sensory input be processed at the exclusion of others over a period of time. Consequently, this review focuses on the development of attention that is both selective (which entails processing parts of the sensory input at the exclusion of others) and sustained (which entails maintaining sensitivity to incoming stimuli for a period of time). Recent findings from four distinct areas of research reviewed here suggest that: (1) the underlying neural circuitry of selective sustained attention involves multiple cortical and subcortical brain regions; (2) selective sustained attention in infancy provides a developmental foundation for the emergence of executive function later in life; (3) suppression-based mechanisms of attentional selection that begin to emerge during the first year of life are important for memory and learning; and (4) selective sustained attention appears to be malleable through pre-natal and post-natal nutritional supplementation and interactions with mature social partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna V Fisher
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, 33-I Baker Hall, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States.
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18
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Unger L, Fisher AV. Rapid, experience-related changes in the organization of children's semantic knowledge. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 179:1-22. [PMID: 30468918 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2018] [Revised: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The organization of knowledge according to relations between concepts is crucially important for many cognitive processes, and its emergence during childhood is a key focus of cognitive development research. Prior evidence about the role of learning and experience in the development of knowledge organization primarily comes from studies investigating differences between preexisting, naturally occurring groups (e.g., children from rural vs. urban settings, children who own a pet vs. children who do not) and a handful of studies on the effects of researcher-developed educational interventions. However, we know little about whether knowledge organization can be relatively rapidly molded by shorter-term real-world learning experiences (e.g., on a timescale of days vs. years or months). The current study investigated whether naturalistic learning experiences can drive rapid measurable changes in knowledge organization in children by investigating the effects of a week-long zoo summer camp (compared with a control school-based camp) on the degree to which 4- to 9-year-old children's knowledge about animals was organized according to taxonomic relations. Although there were no differences in taxonomic organization between the zoo camp and the school-based camp at pretest, only children who participated in the zoo camp showed increases in taxonomic organization at posttest. Moreover, analyses of changes in taxonomic organization in zoo camp children suggested that these changes were primarily driven by improvements in the degree to which children differentiated between taxonomic categories. These findings provide novel evidence that naturalistic experiences can drive rapid changes in knowledge organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Layla Unger
- Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
| | - Anna V Fisher
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
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19
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Do verbal reminders improve preschoolers’ prospective memory performance? It depends on age and individual differences. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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20
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Scrimin S, Moscardino U, Mason L. First-graders’ allocation of attentional resources in an emotional Stroop task: The role of heart period variability and classroom climate. BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 89:146-164. [DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2017] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Scrimin
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization; University of Padova; Italy
| | - Ughetta Moscardino
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization; University of Padova; Italy
| | - Lucia Mason
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization; University of Padova; Italy
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21
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Abstract
This brief report addresses preschoolers' selective sustained attention (SSA) and early numeracy skills and knowledge. Past research indicates that children's attention and early numeracy are positively associated, yet some concerns have emerged about the age appropriateness of tools used to measure preschoolers' SSA. This study used a new measure-the Track-It Task-that demonstrates strong psychometric properties. In total, 31 at-risk preschoolers (Mage = 46.6 months) participated and were assessed on SSA, nonsymbolic quantity discrimination, and symbolic quantitative skills and knowledge. The ability to sustain attention in the face of distractions was positively correlated with preschoolers' verbal counting and one-to-one correspondence, Arabic numeral recognition, and cardinal principle knowledge. SSA was not significantly associated with child age or performance on a memory task. This study provides preliminary evidence that SSA may facilitate the process whereby young children become reliable counters and learn that the symbol system of numbers represents specific quantities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Brueggemann
- Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, College of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Sara Gable
- Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, College of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
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22
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Using language to get ready: Familiar labels help children engage proactive control. J Exp Child Psychol 2017; 166:147-159. [PMID: 28898678 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Revised: 08/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
A key developmental transition is the ability to engage executive functions proactively in advance of needing them. We tested the potential role of linguistic processes in proactive control. Children completed a task in which they could proactively track a novel (target) shape on a screen as it moved unpredictably amid novel distractors and needed to identify where it disappeared. Children almost always remembered which shape to track, but those who learned familiar labels for the target shapes before the task had nearly twice the odds of tracking the target compared with those who received experience with the targets but no labels. Children who learned labels were also more likely to spontaneously vocalize labels when the target appeared. These findings provide the first evidence of a causal role for linguistic processes in proactive control and suggest new ideas about how proactive control develops, why language supports a variety of executive functions, and how interventions might best be targeted.
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23
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Doebel S, Barker JE, Chevalier N, Michaelson LE, Fisher AV, Munakata Y. Getting ready to use control: Advances in the measurement of young children's use of proactive control. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0175072. [PMID: 28419099 PMCID: PMC5395143 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 03/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A key developmental transition in executive function is in the temporal dynamics of its engagement: children shift from reactively calling to mind task-relevant information as needed, to being able to proactively maintain information across time in anticipation of upcoming demands. This transition is important for understanding individual differences and developmental changes in executive function; however, methods targeting its assessment are limited. We tested the possibility that Track-It, a paradigm developed to measure selective sustained attention, also indexes proactive control. In this task children must track a target shape as it moves unpredictably among moving distractors, and identify where it disappears, which may require proactively maintaining information about the target or goal. In two experiments (5-6 year-olds, Ns = 33, 64), children's performance on Track-It predicted proactive control across two established paradigms. These findings suggest Track-It measures proactive control in children. Theoretical possibilities regarding how proactive control and selective sustained attention may be related are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Doebel
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado—Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Jane E. Barker
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado—Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Nicolas Chevalier
- School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Laura E. Michaelson
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado—Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Anna V. Fisher
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Yuko Munakata
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado—Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
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24
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Benitez VL, Vales C, Hanania R, Smith LB. Sustained selective attention predicts flexible switching in preschoolers. J Exp Child Psychol 2016; 156:29-42. [PMID: 28024178 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Revised: 09/28/2016] [Accepted: 11/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Stability and flexibility are fundamental to an intelligent cognitive system. Here, we examined the relationship between stability in selective attention and explicit control of flexible attention. Preschoolers were tested on the Dimension Preference (DP) task, which measures the stability of selective attention to an implicitly primed dimension, and the Dimension Change Card Sort (DCCS) task, which measures flexible attention switching between dimensions. Children who successfully switched on the DCCS task were more likely than those who perseverated to sustain attention to the primed dimension on the DP task across trials. We propose that perseverators have less stable attention and distribute their attention between dimensions, whereas switchers can successfully stabilize attention to individual dimensions and, thus, show more enduring priming effects. Flexible attention may emerge, in part, from implicit processes that stabilize attention even in tasks not requiring switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viridiana L Benitez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| | - Catarina Vales
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Rima Hanania
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Linda B Smith
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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25
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Stern-Ellran K, Zilcha-Mano S, Sebba R, Levit Binnun N. Disruptive Effects of Colorful vs. Non-colorful Play Area on Structured Play-A Pilot Study with Preschoolers. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1661. [PMID: 27840614 PMCID: PMC5083879 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2016] [Accepted: 10/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
To contribute to young children's development, sensory enrichment is often provided via colorful play areas. However, little is known about the effects of colorful environments on children while they engage in age-appropriate tasks and games. Studies in adults suggest that aspects of color can distract attention and impair performance, and children are known to have less developed attentional and executive abilities than adults. Preliminary studies conducted in children aged 5-8 suggest that the colorfulness of both distal (e.g., wall decorations) and proximal (e.g., the surface of the desktop) environments can have a disruptive effect on children's performance. The present research seeks to extend the previous studies to an even younger age group and focus on proximal colorfulness. With a sample of 15 pre-schoolers (3-4 years old) we examined whether a colorful play surface compared to a non-colorful (white) play surface would affect engagement in developmentally appropriate structured play. Our pilot findings suggest that a colorful play surface interfered with preschoolers' structured play, inducing more behaviors indicating disruption in task execution compared with a non-colorful play surface. The implications of the current study for practice and further research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keren Stern-Ellran
- Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Haifa, Israel
| | | | - Rachel Sebba
- Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Haifa, Israel
| | - Nava Levit Binnun
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Sagol Center for Brain and Mind, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya Herzliya, Israel
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26
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Burling JM, Yoshida H. Highlighting in Early Childhood: Learning Biases Through Attentional Shifting. Cogn Sci 2016; 41 Suppl 1:96-119. [PMID: 27634614 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2015] [Revised: 03/02/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The literature on human and animal learning suggests that individuals attend to and act on cues differently based on the order in which they were learned. Recent studies have proposed that one specific type of learning outcome, the highlighting effect, can serve as a framework for understanding a number of early cognitive milestones. However, little is known how this learning effect itself emerges among children, whose memory and attention are much more limited compared to adults. Two experiments were conducted using different versions of the general highlighting paradigm: Experiment 1 tested 3 to 6 year olds with a newly developed image-based version of the paradigm, which was designed specifically to test young children. Experiment 2 tested the validity of an image-based implementation of the highlighting paradigm with adult participants. The results from Experiment 1 provide evidence for the highlighting effect among children 3-6 years old, and they suggest age-related differences in dividing attention among multiple cues during learning. Experiment 2 replicated results from previous studies by showing robust biases for both image-based and text-based versions of the highlighting task. This study suggests that sensitivity to learning order emerges early through the process of cued attention, and the role of the highlighting effect in early language learning is discussed.
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27
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Erickson LC, Thiessen ED, Godwin KE, Dickerson JP, Fisher AV. Endogenously and exogenously driven selective sustained attention: Contributions to learning in kindergarten children. J Exp Child Psychol 2015; 138:126-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2015.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2014] [Revised: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 04/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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28
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29
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Kirk HE, Gray K, Riby DM, Cornish KM. Cognitive training as a resolution for early executive function difficulties in children with intellectual disabilities. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2015; 38:145-160. [PMID: 25561358 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2014.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2014] [Revised: 12/13/2014] [Accepted: 12/15/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Core executive functions (EF) such as attention, and working memory have been strongly associated with academic achievement, language development and behavioral stability. In the case of children who are vulnerable to cognitive and learning problems because of an underlying intellectual disability, EF difficulties will likely exacerbate an already compromised cognitive system. The current review examines cognitive training programs that aim to improve EF, specifically focusing on the potential of this type of intervention for children who have intellectual disabilities. We conclude that despite considerable discrepancies regarding reported intervention effects, these inconsistencies can be attributed to flaws in both program and study design. We discuss the steps needed to address these limitations and to facilitate the advancement of non-pharmaceutical interventions for children with intellectual disabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- H E Kirk
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - K Gray
- Centre for Developmental Psychology & Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - D M Riby
- Department of Psychology, Durham University, England, United Kingdom
| | - K M Cornish
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
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30
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Fisher AV, Godwin KE, Seltman H. Visual Environment, Attention Allocation, and Learning in Young Children. Psychol Sci 2014; 25:1362-70. [DOI: 10.1177/0956797614533801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2013] [Accepted: 03/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A large body of evidence supports the importance of focused attention for encoding and task performance. Yet young children with immature regulation of focused attention are often placed in elementary-school classrooms containing many displays that are not relevant to ongoing instruction. We investigated whether such displays can affect children’s ability to maintain focused attention during instruction and to learn the lesson content. We placed kindergarten children in a laboratory classroom for six introductory science lessons, and we experimentally manipulated the visual environment in the classroom. Children were more distracted by the visual environment, spent more time off task, and demonstrated smaller learning gains when the walls were highly decorated than when the decorations were removed.
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31
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Preschoolers can form abstract rule representations regardless of cognitive flexibility. J Exp Child Psychol 2014; 124:50-66. [PMID: 24751372 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2013] [Revised: 01/24/2014] [Accepted: 01/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The abstractness of rule representations in the pre-switch phase of the Dimensional Change Card Sorting (DCCS) task was studied by letting 3- and 4-year-old children perform a standard DCCS task and a separate generalization task. In the generalization task, children were asked to generalize their sorting rules to novel stimuli in one of three conditions. In the relevant change condition, values of the relevant dimension changed; in the irrelevant change condition, values of the irrelevant dimension changed; and in the total change condition, values of both dimensions changed. All children showed high performance on the generalization task in the relevant change condition, implying an abstract rule representation at the level of dimensions ("same colors go together"). Performance in the relevant change condition was significantly better (and faster) than performance in the other two conditions. Children with high cognitive flexibility (switchers on the DCCS task) more often switched their attention to the irrelevant dimension in the generalization task only if values of the irrelevant dimension changed. Children with low cognitive flexibility (perseverators) were more often inconsistent in their sorting on the generalization task if values of both dimensions changed. The difference in performance on the DCCS task between switchers and perseverators seems to result from the processes that operate on the learned sorting rules and not from the abstractness of the rule representations children have.
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32
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Blackwell KA, Munakata Y. Costs and benefits linked to developments in cognitive control. Dev Sci 2013; 17:203-11. [PMID: 24329774 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2012] [Accepted: 07/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Developing cognitive control over one's thoughts, emotions, and actions is a fundamental process that predicts important life outcomes. Such control begins in infancy, and shifts during development from a predominantly reactive form (e.g. retrieving task-relevant information when needed) to an increasingly proactive form (e.g. maintaining task-relevant information in anticipation of needing it). While such developments are generally viewed as adaptive, cognitive abilities can also involve trade-offs, such that the benefits of developing increasingly proactive control may come with associated costs. In two experiments, we test for such cognitive trade-offs in children who are transitioning to proactive control. We find that proactive control predicts expected benefits in children's working memory, but is also associated with predicted costs in disproportionately slowing children under conditions of distraction. These findings highlight unique advantages and disadvantages of proactive and reactive control, and suggest caution in attempting to alter their balance during development.
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