Children and adolescents' performance on a medium-length/nonsemantic word-list test

Effects of comorbidity on executive functions among children with ADHD, finding trends

There is still no basic overview about the effect of various types of comorbidity in executive functions due to two main reasons: (1) the type and number of comorbidities in ADHD is significantly varied, (2) EFs are very diverse and have different neuropsychological properties. Our objective was to determine the effect of comorbid disorders (number and type) on the performance in a wide range (seven) of executive functions in a sample of children with ADHD. Fifty-five male children aged seven to nine years with ADHD were divided into six groups: G1 = ADHD only (ADHD-O), G1 = Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), G3 = (anxiety/depressive disorder (ADD), G4 = ODD + ADD, G5 = ODD + learning disorder (LD), G6 = ODD + LD + conduct disorder (CD). The six groups exhibited different number of deficits in EFs; G1 showed only 1 deficit in contrast, G6 presented 11. Statistical analysis (ANOVA and logistic regression) identified three most affected EFs: Working memory, generation/classification of semantic categories, and inhibitory control. Alterations in EFs increased mainly in relation to the increase of the specific number and type of comorbidity. To date, no studies have addressed comorbidity from this perspective. A wide range approach of EF confirms the need to further study comorbidity in ADHD from a wide range/variety perspective and determine all possible combinations (number/type) to clarify its contribution to the complex neuropsychology functioning in ADHD.

Verbal memory and executive components of recall in adolescent binge drinkers

Introduction

Binge drinking (BD) is a common health-risk behavior among young people. Due to the incomplete maturation of the adolescent brain, BD can lead to structural and functional changes that impact neurocognitive processes, particularly executive functioning and verbal memory. This study aimed to investigate the influence of executive components, such as mnemonic strategies and error avoidance, on performance in a verbal memory test and the potential effects of BD on this performance.

Methods

A sample of 160 college students (51.55% female) with a mean age of 18.12 ± 0.32 years completed assessments for alcohol use disorders using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), as well as psychopathological (Symptom Checklist-90-R) and neuropsychological evaluations (Verbal Learning Test Spain-Complutense and WMS-III Logical Memory). The Intensive Drinking Evaluation Instrument (IECI) was utilized to gather detailed information about binge drinking habits, including the calculation of the highest blood alcohol concentration (BAC) during an episode of intake.

Results

Correlation and clustering analyses revealed a negative association between BAC values and verbal memory performance, as well as the use of memory strategies. The high BAC group (BD) exhibited negative values in verbal memory variables, higher accuracy errors, and less efficient strategy usage, while the low BAC group (No BD) demonstrated better memory test performance, fewer precision errors, and superior use of memory strategies.

Discussion

These findings support the hypothesis that, when solving tests requiring verbal memory, adolescents reporting a BD consumption pattern show fewer executive skills in their resolution and, therefore, achieved poorer performance than non-binge drinkers. Addressing excessive alcohol consumption in young individuals is crucial for safeguarding their cognitive development and overall well-being.

Anxiety and verbal learning in typically developing primary school children: Less efficient but equally effective

BACKGROUND

Despite evidence that high levels of anxiety can impair Working Memory (WM) functioning, little is known about how anxiety is associated with classroom learning activities, which make high demands on verbal WM.

AIMS

To investigate the association between anxiety and learning on a task which makes high demands on verbal WM.

SAMPLE

Participants were 119 typically developing, Australian elementary school children (M age = 9.25 years; SD = 7.6 months).

METHOD

In individual testing sessions, measures of trait anxiety (Spence Childhood Anxiety Scales) and state anxiety (Visual Analogue scale) were made. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, which makes similar demands on WM to many classroom activities, was administered.

RESULTS

Neither trait nor state anxiety alone was associated with mean recall across trials, however their interaction showed a significant effect. In children high on both measures of anxiety, learning followed a different trajectory. They learned more slowly on the first three trials than less anxious peers, then caught up on the remaining trials. While their mean recall scores across trials were significantly lower than those of less anxious peers, they retained as many words on the delayed learning trial.

CONCLUSION

In a group of typically developing children, learning on the early, more demanding learning trials of a verbal learning task was vulnerable to heightened anxiety. However, the extra opportunities to learn on later trials enabled more anxious children to learn as much as their less anxious peers. While they learnt less efficiently, they learnt equally effectively.