Developmental Trajectories of Attention in Typically Developing Chinese Children: A Four-Wave Longitudinal Study

Nonlinear age effects in tactile processing from early childhood to adulthood

BACKGROUND

Tactile processing plays a pivotal role in the early stages of human development; however, little is known about tactile function in young children. An understanding of how tactile processing changes with age from early childhood to adulthood is fundamental in understanding altered tactile experiences in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 142 children and adults aged 3-23 years completed a vibrotactile testing battery consisting of 5 tasks, which rely on different cortical and cognitive mechanisms. The battery was designed to be suitable for testing in young children to investigate how tactile processing changes from early childhood to adulthood.

RESULTS

Our results suggest a pattern of rapid, age-related changes in tactile processing toward lower discrimination thresholds (lower discrimination thresholds = greater sensitivity) across early childhood, though we acknowledge limitations with cross-sectional data. Differences in the rate of change across tasks were observed, with tactile performance reaching adult-like levels at a younger age on some tasks compared to others.

CONCLUSIONS

While it is known that early childhood is a period of profound development including tactile processing, our data provides evidence for subtle differences in the developmental rate of the various underlying cortical, physical, and cognitive processes. Further, we are the first to show the feasibility of vibrotactile testing in early childhood (<6 years). The results of this work provide estimates of age-related differences in performance, which could have important implications as a reference for investigating altered tactile processing in developmental disorders.

Popular interventions to enhance sustained attention in children and adolescents: A critical systematic review

There are a myriad of interventions promoting activities designed to help enhance sustained attention in children and adolescents. In this systematic review, we critically evaluate the evidence behind three popular sustained attention training approaches - cognitive attention training, meditation, and physical activity. Seven databases were searched in addition to secondary searches. Cognitive attention training, meditation training or physical activity intervention studies aimed at improving sustained attention (randomised-controlled or non-randomised-controlled designs) in samples of children and adolescents (3-18 years) were included. We screened 3437 unique articles. Thirty-seven studies satisfied inclusion criteria. In general, cognitive attention training (n = 14) did not reliably improve sustained attention. Physical activity (n = 15) and meditation interventions (n = 8) demonstrated somewhat more potential in enhancing sustained attention, but these effects should be considered preliminary and need to be replicated with greater methodological rigour. Cognitive attention training demonstrated very limited transfer to other aspects of attention. Notably, mindfulness training had rather consistent positive effects on selective attention. Across all three intervention types, there was very weak evidence for transfer to other aspects of cognition, behaviour, and academic achievement. The paper concludes with methodological recommendations for future studies to strengthen the evidence base.

The development of oculomotor suppression of salient distractors in children

There is considerable evidence that adults can prevent attentional capture by physically salient stimuli via proactive inhibition. A key question is whether young children can also inhibit salient stimuli to prevent visual distraction. The current study directly compared attentional capture in children (M_age = 5.5 years) and adults (M_age = 19.3 years) by measuring overt eye movements. Participants searched for a target shape among heterogeneous distractor shapes and attempted to ignore a salient color singleton distractor. The destination of first saccades was used to assess attentional capture by the salient distractor, providing a more direct index of attentional allocation than prior developmental studies. Adults were able to suppress saccades to the singleton distractor, replicating previous studies. Children, however, demonstrated no such oculomotor suppression; first saccades were equally likely to be directed to the singleton distractor and nonsingleton distractors. Subsequent analyses indicated that children were able to suppress the distractor, but this occurred approximately 550 ms after stimulus presentation. The current results suggest that children possess some level of top-down control over visual attention, but this top-down control is delayed compared with adults. Development of this ability may be related to executive functions, which include goal-directed behavior such as organized search and impulse control as well as preparatory and inhibitory cognitive functions.

Sustained Attention Deficits in Adults With Juvenile-Onset Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate whether patients with juvenile-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) have poorer sustained attention than their counterparts with adult-onset T1DM, and whether there is a relationship between diabetes-related variables and sustained attention.

METHODS

This study included 76 participants with juvenile-onset T1DM, 68 participants with adult-onset T1DM, and 85 healthy controls (HCs). All participants completed the Sustained Attention to Response Task, Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the Chinese version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.

RESULTS

The juvenile-onset group showed more omission errors (p = .007) than the adult-onset group and shorter reaction time (p = .005) than HCs, whereas the adult-onset group showed no significant differences compared with HCs. Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that the age of onset was associated with omission errors in T1DM participants (β = -0.275, t = -2.002, p = .047). In the juvenile-onset group, the omission error rate were associated with the history of severe hypoglycemia (β = 0.225, t = 1.996, p = .050), whereas reaction time was associated with the age of onset (β = -0.251, t = -2.271, p = .026). Fasting blood glucose levels were significantly associated with reaction time in both the juvenile-onset and adult-onset groups (β = -0.236, t = -2.117, p = .038, and β = 0.259, t = 2.041, p = .046, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Adults with juvenile-onset T1DM have sustained attention deficits in contrast to their adult-onset counterparts, suggesting that the disease adversely affects the developing brain. Both the history of severe hypoglycemia and fasting blood glucose levels are factors associated with sustained attention impairment. Early diagnosis and treatment in juvenile patients are required to prevent the detrimental effects of diabetes.

Assessing the Three Attentional Networks and Vigilance in the Adolescence Stages

Attention involves three functionally and neuroanatomically distinct neural networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control. This study aimed to assess the attentional networks and vigilance in adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years using the attentional network test for interaction and vigilance (ANTI-V). One hundred and eighty-two adolescents divided into three groups (early adolescents, middle adolescents, late adolescents) participated in the study. The results indicate that after age 15, adolescents adopt a more conservative response strategy and increase the monitoring of self-errors. All the attentional networks seem to continue to develop during the age range considered in this study (10–19 y). Performance improved from early adolescence to middle adolescence and began to stabilize in late adolescence. Moreover, a low level of vigilance seems to harm alerting and orienting abilities.

Longitudinal Trajectories of Sustained Attention Development in Children and Adolescents with ADHD

The present study characterizes changes in sustained attention ability over ages 9-14, and whether longitudinal trajectories of attention development differ between persistent ADHD, remitted ADHD and control groups. The Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) was administered to 120 children with ADHD and 123 controls on three occasions between ages 9 and 14. Trajectories of sustained attention development, indicated by changes in SART performance (standard deviation of response time [SDRT], omission errors, and ex-Gaussian parameters sigma and tau), were examined using generalized additive mixed models. For all measures there was a significant main effect of age; response time variability and number of omission errors improved linearly as children aged. However, children with ADHD had significantly greater SDRT, tau and omission errors than controls across waves. There were no significant group differences in sigma, indicating that the greater overall response time variability (SDRT) observed in ADHD was likely driven by more intermittent long responses (larger tau). Trajectories of sustained attention performance did not differ between children with persistent ADHD or ADHD in remission. Longitudinal trajectories of sustained attention development are comparable between ADHD and controls, however children with ADHD (regardless of remission status) display a performance deficit equivalent to typical controls 1-3 years younger. Findings highlight the need for continued clinical support for children in remission from ADHD and provide support for tau as an endophenotype of ADHD.

Using a multidimensional model of attention to predict low-income preschoolers' early academic skills across time

The current study examines the organization of attention skills across the preschool year before kindergarten, and tests how distinct attention subcomponents predict early academic skills in a sample of low-income children (n = 99). Children completed well-validated attention tasks in fall at 4.5 years old and spring at 5 years old, capturing the abilities to selectively focus, sustain attention, and employ executive control. Exploratory factor analyses at both time points support a 2-factor model differentiating selective and sustained attention from attention processing speed and executive attention, suggesting that attention in low-income preschoolers may have a simpler organization than the 3-factor structure found in adulthood. Multiple regression models find children's ability to selectively focus and sustain attention serves as a robust concurrent and longitudinal predictor of academic skills. These results highlight the role of selective and sustained attention processes in supporting school readiness for economically vulnerable children.