Attentional processes in typically developing children as revealed using brain event-related potentials and their source localization in Attention Network Test

The effect and efficiency of attentional networks and the brain electrophysiology

The attention networks test (ANT) is frequently utilized to evaluate executive, alerting, and orienting attentional components. Additionally, it serves as an activation task in neuroimaging studies. This study aimed to examine the relationship between attention networks and brain electrophysiology. The study enrolled 40 right-handed male students (age = 20.8 ± 1.3 years) who underwent the revised attention network test, while their electroencephalogram signals were recorded. The study aimed to explore the effects of attention networks and their efficiencies on brain electrophysiology. The results indicated that the P3 amplitude was modulated by the conflict effect in the central (p-value = 0.014) and parietal (p-value = 0.002) regions. The orienting component significantly influenced P1 and N1 latencies in the parietal and parieto-occipital regions (p-values < 0.006), as well as P1 and N1 amplitude in the parieto-occipital region (p-values = 0.017 and 0.011). The alerting component significantly affected P1 latency and amplitude in the parietal and parieto-occipital regions, respectively (p-value = 0.02). Furthermore, N1 amplitude and the time interval between P1 and N1 were significantly correlated with the efficiency of alerting and orienting networks. In terms of connectivity, the coherence of theta and alpha bands significantly decreased in the incongruent condition compared to the congruent condition. Additionally, the effects of attention networks on event-related spectral perturbation were observed. The study revealed the influence of attention networks on various aspects of brain electrophysiology. Specifically, the alerting score correlated with the amplitude of the N1 component in the double-cue and no-cue conditions in the parieto-occipital region, while the orienting score in the same region correlated with the N1 amplitude in the valid cue condition and the difference in N1 amplitude between the valid cue and double-cue conditions. Overall, empirical evidence suggests that attention networks not only impact the amplitudes of electrophysiological activities but also influence their time course.

Neural Correlates of Visual Attention and Short-Term Memory in Children with Reading Difficulty

Visual attention and memory of 20 children with reading difficulty (M_age = 134 months), 24 chronological (M_age = 138 months) and 19 reading-age controls (M_age = 92 months) were examined using object substitution masking; mask offset delay increases visual attention and visual short-term memory demands. ERP amplitude differences in the N1 (alerting), N2pc (N2-posterior-contralateral; selective attention), and SPCN (sustained posterior contralateral negativity; memory load) were expected between groups. Chronological controls performed best, but ERP results were mixed. No group differences were found for N1 or N2pc. SPCN showed enhanced negativity in reading difficulty, indicating greater memory load and anomalous inhibition.

Attentional asymmetry in orienting and alertness and its relationship to temperament: A longitudinal study of infants aged 6-24 months

Previous research suggests that difficulties in orienting to visual stimuli directed by the right hemisphere are related to parental reports of distress and may be an early sign of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One possible reason for this difficulty is infants' ability to achieve high levels of alertness, which also depends on the right hemisphere. This study examines the relationship between phasic alertness and asymmetry in visual orienting in typically-developing 6-24-month-old infants using the overlap paradigm. Participants were given a spatially non-directive warning signal shortly before the onset of the peripheral target. The signal reduced latencies in both overlap and no-overlap conditions. No main effects of age and visual field or interaction were found. However, results confirm the negative association between temperamental soothability and disengagement difficulty toward the left visual field at 6 months. This is discussed from the viewpoint of early left visual field attentional bias in relation to social cognition.

Inhibitory control in children with tic disorder: aberrant fronto-parietal network activity and connectivity

Chronic tic disorders, including Tourette syndrome, are typically thought to have deficits in cognitive inhibition and top down cognitive control due to the frequent and repetitive occurrence of tics, yet studies reporting task performance results have been equivocal. Despite similar behavioural performance, individuals with chronic tic disorder have exhibited aberrant patterns of neural activation in multiple frontal and parietal regions relative to healthy controls during inhibitory control paradigms. In addition to these top down attentional control regions, widespread alterations in brain activity across multiple neural networks have been reported. There is a dearth, however, of studies examining event-related connectivity during cognitive inhibitory paradigms among affected individuals. The goal of this study was to characterize neural oscillatory activity and effective connectivity, using a case–control design, among children with and without chronic tic disorder during performance of a cognitive inhibition task. Electroencephalogram data were recorded in a cohort of children aged 8–12 years old (60 with chronic tic disorder, 35 typically developing controls) while they performed a flanker task. While task accuracy did not differ by diagnosis, children with chronic tic disorder displayed significant cortical source-level, event-related spectral power differences during incongruent flanker trials, which required inhibitory control. Specifically, attenuated broad band oscillatory power modulation within the anterior cingulate cortex was observed relative to controls. Whole brain effective connectivity analyses indicated that children with chronic tic disorder exhibit greater information flow between the anterior cingulate and other fronto-parietal network hubs (midcingulate cortex and precuneus) relative to controls, who instead showed stronger connectivity between central and posterior nodes. Spectral power within the anterior cingulate was not significantly correlated with any connectivity edges, suggesting lower power and higher connectivity are independent (versus resultant) neural mechanisms. Significant correlations between clinical features, task performance and anterior cingulate spectral power and connectivity suggest this region is associated with tic impairment (r = −0.31, P = 0.03) and flanker task incongruent trial accuracy (r’s = −0.27 to −0.42, P’s = 0.0008–0.04). Attenuated activation of the anterior cingulate along with dysregulated information flow between and among nodes within the fronto-parietal attention network may be neural adaptations that result from frequent engagement of neural pathways needed for inhibitory control in chronic tic disorder.

Development of attention networks from childhood to young adulthood: A study of performance, intraindividual variability and cortical thickness

Human cognitive development is manifold, with different functions developing at different speeds at different ages. Attention is an important domain of this cognitive development, and involves distinct developmental trajectories for separate functions, including conflict processing, selection of sensory input and alertness. In children, several studies using the Attention Network Test (ANT) have investigated the development of three attentional networks that carry out the functions of executive control, orienting and alerting. There is, however, a lack of studies on the development of these attentional components across adolescence, limiting our understanding of their protracted development. To fill this knowledge gap, we performed a mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal study using mixed methods to examine the development of the attentional components and their intraindividual variability from late childhood to young adulthood (n = 287, n observations = 408, age range = 8.5-26.7 years, mean follow up interval = 4.4 years). The results indicated that executive control stabilized during late adolescence, while orienting and alerting continued to develop into young adulthood. In addition, a continuous development into young adulthood was observed for the intraindividual variability measures of orienting and alerting. In a subsample with available magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data (n = 169, n observations = 281), higher alerting scores were associated with thicker cortices within a right prefrontal cortical region and greater age-related cortical thinning in left rolandic operculum, while higher orienting scores were associated with greater age-related cortical thinning in frontal and parietal regions. Finally, increased consistency of orienting performance was associated with thinner cortex in prefrontal regions and reduced age-related thinning in frontal regions.

Implementation of an attention training programme with a sample of children who have sustained traumatic brain injuries in South Africa: A pilot study

This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of implementing an attention-training programme for children who have sustained moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in a South African context. We compared the performance on the programme of children with TBI (TBI Intervention Group) to children who had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD Intervention Group), a TBI Art group and a TBI No-intervention Group (n=5 in each group) in this preliminary study. Children in the two Intervention Groups participated in the "Pay Attention!" programme for 45 minutes twice a week for 12 weeks. All children were aged 6-8 years and underwent neuropsychological testing pre- and post-intervention. Behavioural data were collected from parents. Children in the ADHD Intervention Group showed individual clinically significant attentional improvements on measures of the Conners' Continuous Performance Test II using the Reliable Change Index (≥ 2.58 SD). Despite mixed results, the pilot study demonstrates that implementing a cognitive rehabilitation programme in South Africa is feasible and necessary, despite limited infrastructure and access to resources.

Attentional Processes in Children With Attentional Problems or Reading Difficulties as Revealed Using Brain Event-Related Potentials and Their Source Localization

Visual attention-related processes include three functional sub-processes: alerting, orienting, and inhibition. We examined these sub-processes using reaction times, event-related potentials (ERPs), and their neuronal source activations during the Attention Network Test (ANT) in control children, attentional problems (AP) children, and reading difficulties (RD) children. During the ANT, electroencephalography was measured using 128 electrodes on three groups of Finnish sixth-graders aged 12–13 years (control = 77; AP = 15; RD = 23). Participants were asked to detect the direction of a middle target fish within a group of five fish. The target stimulus was either preceded by a cue (center, double, or spatial), or without a cue, to manipulate the alerting and orienting sub-processes of attention. The direction of the target fish was either congruent or incongruent in relation to the flanker fish, thereby manipulating the inhibition sub-processes of attention. Reaction time performance showed no differences between groups in alerting, orienting, and inhibition effects. The group differences in ERPs were only found at the source level. Neuronal source analysis in the AP children revealed a larger alerting effect (double-cued vs. non-cued target stimuli) than control and RD children in the left occipital lobe. Control children showed a smaller orienting effect (spatially cued vs. center-cued target stimuli) in the left occipital lobe than AP and RD children. No group differences were found for the neuronal sources related to the inhibition effect. The neuronal activity differences related to sub-processes of attention in the AP and RD groups suggest different underlying mechanisms for attentional and reading problems.