Abstract
SummarySustained attention and vigilance are processeses that characterize attention, and are essential for the development of certain abilitiesAima prospective study to propose a simple, easy and quick behavioral tool to support the assessment of sustained auditory attention.Material and methodsvolunteer children aged between 6 and 11 years (139 female and 141 male) were selected. The test was named Sustained Auditory Attention Ability Test, and is based on the Continuous Performance Test. It consist of a binaural and diotic presentation of a list of 100 monosyllabic words in which a target monosyllable is included 20 times. This list was presented six times with no breaks. The test was carried out in a soundproofed room, using a CD player attached to a two-channel audiometer at 50 dBSL during 9 minutes. The test resulted in a total score and a vigilance decrement.ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference between genders, but a significant difference was found between ages.ConclusionThe proposed test had no discomfort for the participants, and was shown to be extremely promising to assess the sustained auditory attention ability in children.
Highlights
Attention may be characterized by its selectivity and intensity
Intensity improves information processing quality, since information processing focus is reduced. This results in an improvement in the quality of cognitive activities involved in the attention behavior
Based on the results obtained in the sustained auditory attention capacity (SAAC) test, we created Table 2, that shows the distribution of mean values and standard deviations for the sampled children in each age range, according to gender, considering the lack of attention errors, impulsiveness and total score
Summary
Attention may be characterized by its selectivity and intensity. Selectivity narrows the focus of information processing from a broad range of stimuli, thoughts and answers, to a simple aspect in the environment, or a selected group of stimulus-response activities. Intensity improves information processing quality, since information processing focus is reduced This results in an improvement in the quality of cognitive activities involved in the attention behavior. This last aspect is called sustained attention.[1]. One of the most popular ways to assess sustained attention is the Continuous Performance Test-CPT), which requires the individual to keep awake and react to the presence or absence of a target stimulus that has been previously specified. It has numerous presentation methods (auditory, visual or verbal). Impulsiveness-related mistakes happen when an answer is given in the absence of such stimulus.[2,3]
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