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Attentional Capacity (attentional + capacity)
Selected AbstractsEffects of redundant and nonredundant bimodal sensory stimulation on heart rate in bobwhite quail embryosDEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2003Greg D. Reynolds Abstract Research with both animal embryos and human infants has provided evidence that information presented redundantly and in temporal synchrony across sensory modalities (intersensory redundancy) can guide selective attention, perceptual learning, and memory during early development. How this facilitation is achieved remains relatively unexamined. This study examined the effects of redundant versus nonredundant bimodal stimulation on a measure of physiological arousal (heart rate) in bobwhite quail embryos. Results show that quail embryos exposed to concurrent but nonredundant auditory and visual stimulation during the late stages of incubation exhibit significantly elevated heart rates following stimulus exposure and during stimulus reexposure when compared to embryos exposed to redundant and synchronous audiovisual stimulation, unimodal auditory stimulation, or no supplemental prenatal sensory stimulation. These findings indicate a functional distinction between redundant and nonredundant bimodal stimulation during early development and suggest that nonredundant bimodal stimulation during the prenatal period can raise arousal levels, thereby potentially interfering with the attentional capacities and perceptual learning of bobwhite quail. In contrast, intersensory redundancy appears to foster arousal levels that facilitate selective attention and perceptual learning during prenatal development. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 43: 304,310, 2003. [source] Deficits in interval timing measured by the dual-task paradigm among children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 3 2010Shoou-Lian Hwang Background:, The underlying mechanism of time perception deficit in long time intervals in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is still unclear. This study used the time reproduction dual task to explore the role of the attentional resource in time perception deficits among children and adolescents with ADHD. Methods:, Participants included 168 children and adolescents with DSM-IV ADHD and 90 control children and adolescents without ADHD, aged 10 to 17 years, in Taipei. The DSM-IV diagnoses of ADHD and other psychiatric comorbid conditions were made by clinical assessments and confirmed by the psychiatric interviews of both parents and participants using the Chinese Kiddie Epidemiologic version of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. The participants were also assessed by using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-3rd edition (WISC-III), and time reproduction tasks (the single task and the simple and difficult versions of the dual tasks) at 5-second, 12-second, and 17-second intervals. The linear mixed model was used for data analysis. Results:, Children and adolescents with ADHD had less precise time reproduction than the controls in all three tasks except the 5-second interval of the single task. There were significant interactions between group and interval (12-second vs. 5-second, p = .030; 17-second vs. 5-second, p < .001), and between group and task (simple dual task vs. single task, p = .016; difficult dual task vs. single task, p < .001) after controlling for FSIQ, comorbidity, sex, age, use of methylphenidate, and the performance of the non-temporal tasks in dual tasks, if relevant. Conclusions:, Significantly increased estimation errors in ADHD with increased task difficulties suggest that impaired timing processing in children and adolescents with ADHD during long time intervals may be accounted for by the limited attentional capacity rather than a primary problem in timing per se. This finding does not apply to rapid time intervals, in which cerebellar circuitry is important. [source] Low- and high-level controlled processing in executive motor control tasks in 5,6-year-old children at risk of ADHDTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 7 2003Ariane C. Kalff Background: The scant research on the characteristics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in kindergarten years curtails progress on early assessment of ADHD. Method: By screening a general population sample of 1317 five- to six-year-old children, four groups of children were selected. The performance of 30 children later diagnosed with ADHD was compared with 74 children later diagnosed with ,borderline ADHD' (children exhibiting all ADHD symptoms but without disruptions on two situations), 113 children later diagnosed with other psychopathology, and 126 healthy controls on computerised motor control tasks involving low- and high-level controlled processing. In addition, motor control was compared with movement speed. Results: The children at risk of ADHD were in general less accurate and more variable in their movements than the children with other psychopathology and healthy controls. Under conditions of high-level controlled processing, the children at risk of ADHD were disproportionately more inaccurate and had a more unstable performance with their preferred hand than the other children. In addition, linear effects were found, with the children at risk of ADHD having the worst performance, followed by the children with ,borderline ADHD', and then both groups of control children. No significant group differences were found in movement speed. Conclusions: The main findings are interpreted as evidence for a specific deficit in high-level controlled processing in young children at risk of ADHD, now found in a motor task, rather than a response task. Furthermore, the results support the notion that ADHD represents a dimensional trait. In addition, problems in movement control (the need to allocate attentional capacity) rather than problems in movement speed distinguish children at risk of ADHD from other children. The findings are interpreted as evidence that higher-order executive processes, such as self-control and self-regulation, are already affected early in the development of ADHD. [source] Processing Limitations in Children With Specific Language Impairment: The Role of Executive FunctionCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2006Nancie Im-Bolter Research suggests that children with specific language impairment (SLI) have processing limitations; however, the mechanisms involved have not been well defined or investigated in a theory-guided manner. The theory of constructive operators was used as a framework to explore processes underlying limited processing capacity in children with SLI. Mental attentional capacity, mental attentional interruption, and 2 specific executive functions (shifting and updating) were examined in 45 children with SLI and 45 children with normally developing language, aged 7 to 12 years. The results revealed overall group differences in performance on measures of mental attention, interruption, and updating, but not shifting. The findings supported the premise that mental attention predicted language competence, but that this relationship was mediated partially by updating. [source] The effects of infant media usage: what do we know and what should we learn?ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 1 2009Dimitri A Christakis Abstract The rise of infant TV viewing began in the late 1990s and has become an increasingly common occurrence. Today, over 90% of children begin watching TV regularly before the age of 2 years in spite of recommendations to the contrary. This article reviews what is known about the effects of infant TV viewing on multiple domains of child development including language, cognition and attentional capacity as well as directions for future research. Conclusion: No studies to date have demonstrated benefits associated with early infant TV viewing. The preponderance of existing evidence suggests the potential for harm. Parents should exercise due caution in exposing infants to excessive media. [source] | ||||||||||