Selective Attention In Children Research Articles

Enhancing Selective Attention in Children with Learning Disorders: Efficacy of Executive Functions Training

The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an executive functions training program in improving selective attention among children with specific learning disorders. It sought to assess the immediate and sustained impacts of the intervention by comparing changes in selective attention scores between experimental and control groups across pre-test, post-test, and follow-up measurements. A total of 40 children diagnosed with specific learning disorders were recruited and randomly assigned to either the experimental (n=20) or control (n=20) groups. The experimental group underwent a comprehensive executive functions training program, while the control group received no intervention. Selective attention was assessed for all participants at three time points: pre-test, immediately post-intervention (post-test), and at a follow-up session. Descriptive statistics, mixed-model Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Bonferroni post-hoc tests were employed to analyze the data. The experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in selective attention scores from pre-test to post-test (mean difference = 6.40, p = 0.001) and maintained these improvements at follow-up (mean difference = 6.55, p = 0.001). In contrast, the control group showed minimal changes across the same periods. Statistical analyses confirmed significant effects of time, group, and time × group interaction on selective attention scores, with large effect sizes (Eta² > 0.37) indicating the substantial impact of the intervention. The executive functions training program was highly effective in enhancing selective attention among children with specific learning disorders. The intervention led to significant and sustained improvements, highlighting the potential of targeted cognitive training in supporting children with learning challenges. These findings suggest that incorporating executive functions training into therapeutic and educational strategies for children with learning disorders could substantially benefit their cognitive development and academic performance.

Attention network training promotes selective attention of children with low socioeconomic status

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the difference of selective attention efficiency between children with low and high socioeconomic status (SES) and the promotional effect of attention network training (an attention network test was used as the training task) on selective attention in children with the low SES. A total of 139 10- to 12-year-old children participated in two experiments (71 in Experiment 1 and 68 in Experiment 2). The results suggest that selective attention and switch ability of children with high SES are better than those of children with low SES. After attention network training, selective attention, switch ability, and working memory of low-SES children improved significantly. The findings provide evidence that attention network training could enhance selective attention in low-SES children and that the beneficial training effect could also transfer to switch ability and working memory. The research may provide a promising method to compensate cognitive delay of low-SES children.

The effects of first-dose methylphenidate on the neural signatures of visual selective attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Although methylphenidate (MPH) has been shown to significantly improve selective attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the neural mechanism of this effect remains unclear. We investigated the effects of first-dose MPH on the neural signatures of visual selective attention in children with ADHD. We measured the impact of first-dose MPH on electrophysiological indexes from eighteen children with ADHD (8.9–15.2 years; 15 boys) while they performed a visual search task. MPH was administered in a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design. MPH led to decreases in behavioral error rates and reaction times. For the electrophysiological indexes, MPH significantly increased the target-elicited N2pc amplitude and posterior P3 amplitude during the selective attention process. The trial-based correlation analysis revealed that the enhanced N2pc (more negative) and P3 (more positive) promoted the behavioral response speed for children with ADHD. The lower individual P3 amplitude was associated with higher severity of inattention symptoms. The severer inattention symptoms were related to weaker MPH effect on N2pc amplitude. These findings suggest that N2pc and P3 are closely related to the mechanism of MPH in the ADHD treatment.

How bilingualism modulates selective attention in children

There is substantial evidence that learning and using multiple languages modulates selective attention in children. The current study investigated the mechanisms that drive this modification. Specifically, we asked whether the need for constant management of competing languages in bilinguals increases attentional capacity, or draws on the available resources such that they need to be economised to support optimal task performance. Monolingual and bilingual children aged 7–12 attended to a narrative presented in one ear, while ignoring different types of interference in the other ear. We used EEG to capture the neural encoding of attended and unattended speech envelopes, and assess how well they can be reconstructed from the responses of the neuronal populations that encode them. Despite equivalent behavioral performance, monolingual and bilingual children encoded attended speech differently, with the pattern of encoding across conditions in bilinguals suggesting a redistribution of the available attentional capacity, rather than its enhancement.

The effectiveness of balance training on static balance and selective attention of children with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder

Introduction: Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder is a common disorder in childhood, characterized by attention deficit, hyperactivity and impulsive behaviors. Aim: This study examines the effectiveness of balance training on static balance and selective attention in children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. Method: This research was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The population was all 6-year-old children with ADHD referred to the center for child counseling in Gorgan in 2021-2022. Thirty people were selected by convenience sampling method and assigned to the experimental and control groups. In order to collect data, The stork balance test and Stroop color and word test were used. The statistical analysis was carried out using analysis of covariance in SPSS-24. Results: The results showed a significant difference between the post-test mean of the experimental and control groups; This means that balance training can improve Static balance (p<0.001; F=19.45) and selective attention (p<0.001; F=28.63) in children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. Conclusion: The results showed that balance training is effective on selective attention and static balance in children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. Therefore, This exercise seems to be helpful in the rehabilitation program.

Abnormal Reactivity of Brain Oscillations to Visual Search Target in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that impaired goal-directed alpha lateralization and functional disconnection within attention networks during the cue period are significant features of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to explore the role of brain oscillations in the visual search process, focusing on target-induced posterior alpha lateralization, midfrontal theta synchronization, and their functional connection in children with ADHD. MethodsElectroencephalograms were recorded from typically developing (TD) children (n = 72) and children with ADHD (n = 96) while they performed a visual search task. ResultsBoth the TD and ADHD groups showed significant midfrontal theta event-related synchronization (ERS) and posterior alpha lateralization. Compared with TD children, children with ADHD showed significantly lower theta ERS and higher target-induced alpha lateralization. TD children showed a positive trial-based correlation between theta ERS and alpha lateralization and a negative correlation between theta ERS and reaction time variability. However, all these correlations were absent in children with ADHD. ConclusionsAbnormal brain oscillations in children with ADHD indicate insufficient executive control function and the compensation of attention networks for attention deficits in visual selective attention. Cross-frequency disconnection reflects the common deficiency of executive control in the gating of target information. Our findings provide novel evidence for interpreting the features of brain oscillations during stimulus-driven selective attention in children with ADHD.

Effect of a Full Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention on Selective Attention in Children

Effect of a Full Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention on Selective Attention in Children

Aerobic Fitness, B-Vitamins, and Weight Status Are Related to Selective Attention in Children.

There is an increasing prevalence of poor health behaviors during childhood, particularly in terms of physical activity and nutrition. This trend has occurred alongside a growing body of evidence linking these behaviors to cognitive function. B-vitamins are thought to be particularly important in the neural development that occurs during pregnancy, as well as in healthy cognitive aging. However, much less is known regarding the role of B-vitamins during childhood. Given that preadolescent childhood is a critical period for cognitive development, this study investigated the relationship between specific aspects of nutrition, particularly B-vitamins, and related health factors (e.g., body mass, fitness) on selective attention in children. Children (n = 85; 8–11 years) completed a selective attention task to assess inhibition. Participant’s dietary intake was collected using the Automated Self-Administered 24-h dietary assessment tool. Correlations between specific nutrients, BMI, fitness, and task performance were investigated. After accounting for demographic variables and total caloric intake, increased B-vitamin intake (i.e., thiamin and folic acid) was associated with shorter reaction times (p’s < 0.05), fitness was associated with greater response accuracy (p < 0.05), and increased BMI was related to increased variability in reaction times (p < 0.05). Together, these findings suggest that aspects of health may have unique contributions on cognitive performance. Proper physical health and nutrition are imperative for effective cognitive functioning in preadolescent children. Targeted efforts aimed at health education amongst this population could ensure proper cognitive development during school-age years, providing a strong foundation throughout life.

Speech-in-Speech Recognition and Spatially Selective Attention in Children and Adults.

Purpose Knowing target location can improve adults' speech-in-speech recognition in complex auditory environments, but it is unknown whether young children listen selectively in space. This study evaluated masked word recognition with and without a pretrial cue to location to characterize the influence of listener age and masker type on the benefit of spatial cues. Method Participants were children (5-13 years of age) and adults with normal hearing. Testing occurred in a 180° arc of 11 loudspeakers. Targets were spondees produced by a female talker and presented from a randomly selected loudspeaker; that location was either known, based on a pretrial cue, or unknown. Maskers were two sequences comprising spondees or speech-shaped noise bursts, each presented from a random loudspeaker. Speech maskers were produced by one male talker or by three talkers, two male and one female. Results Children and adults benefited from the pretrial cue to target location with the three-voice masker, and the magnitude of benefit increased with increasing child age. There was no benefit of location cues in the one-voice or noise-burst maskers. Incorrect responses in the three-voice masker tended to correspond to masker words produced by the female talker, and in the location-known condition, those masker intrusions were more likely near the cued loudspeaker for both age groups. Conclusions Increasing benefit of the location cue with increasing child age in the three-voice masker suggests maturation of spatially selective attention, but error patterns do not support this idea. Differences in performance in the location-unknown condition could play a role in the differential benefit of the location cue.

Phase Resetting in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex Subserves Childhood Attention and Is Impaired by Epilepsy.

The neural mechanisms that underlie selective attention in children are poorly understood. By administering a set-shifting task to children with intracranial electrodes stereotactically implanted within anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) for epilepsy monitoring, we demonstrate that selective attention in a set-shifting task is dependent upon theta-band phase resetting immediately following stimulus onset and that the preferred theta phase angle is predictive of reaction time during attentional shift. We also observe selective enhancement of oscillatory coupling between the ACC and the dorsal attention network and decoupling with the default mode network during task performance. When transient focal epileptic activity occurs around the time of stimulus onset, phase resetting is impaired, connectivity changes with attentional and default mode networks are abolished, and reaction times are prolonged. The results of the present work highlight the fundamental mechanistic role of oscillatory phase in ACC in supporting attentional circuitry and present novel opportunities to remediate attention deficits in children with epilepsy.

Feasibility of a school-based mindfulness program for improving inhibitory skills in children with autism spectrum disorder

BackgroundExecutive dysfunction is prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including prominent difficulties in the two facets of inhibition, as well as with selective attention. School-based mindfulness has been used in typically-developing children to improve executive functioning, though this has not been investigated in children with ASD. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a school-based mindfulness program for improving inhibition (prepotent response inhibition and interference control) and selective attention in children with ASD. MethodUsing a quasi-experimental, pre-post design, an eight week school-based mindfulness program (Mindful Schools;https://www.mindfulschools.org/), was administered to students with ASD (n = 27) at a private, not-for-profit school for children with special needs. The Walk/Don’t Walk test and the Color-Word Interference test were used to evaluate prepotent response inhibition and interference control, respectively. Selective attention was measured using a cancellation test. ResultsSignificant improvements followed the intervention for prepotent response inhibition and interference control (medium effect sizes), as well as for overall selective attention (large effect size). ConclusionsThe study’s findings demonstrate that school-based mindfulness holds promise for increasing specific executive functioning abilities in children with ASD.

Relationships Between Reaction Time, Selective Attention, Physical Activity, and Physical Fitness in Children.

The objective of this study was to analyze the relationships between simple and complex reaction times (RTs) with the physical activity performed weekly, the physical fitness and selective attention in children of the third cycle of primary education. Participants were 119 children aged between 10 and 12 years (M = 10.71; SD = 0.77). The instruments used for data collection were the D2 attention test to analyze selective attention, various tests of the Eurofit and ALPHA-Fitness Battery to evaluate the physical condition, a bioimpedanciometer Tanita TBF 300 to evaluate the body composition, and the FITLIGHT Trainer to measure the simple and complex RTs. The group that carried out more weekly physical activity used less time in simple (p < 0.05, d = −0.68, 95% CI [−1.19, −0.17]) and complex RT tests (p < 0.05, d = −0.63, 95% CI [−1.14, −0.12]). Also, the results showed that the simple RT was related in a significant way with physical fitness, while the complex RT was related significantly to attentional capacity and physical fitness.

Deficit in selective attention in children with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy

The nuclear spectroscopy method has long been used for advanced studies on nuclear physics. In order to decrease costs and increase the efficiency of nuclear radiation investigations, quick and efficient solutions are required. The purpose of this research was to calculate the whole energy peak efficiency values for a range of gamma-ray energies, from 30.973 keV to 1408 keV, at various source-detector distances using the MCNPX Monte Carlo code, which is extensively used in nuclear medicine, industry, and scientific research. As a result, the modeled detectors' full-energy peak efficiencies were calculated and compared to both experimental data and Monte Carlo simulations. Experiment results and prior studies using Monte Carlo simulations were found to be very consistent with these results. The counting efficiency against source-detector distance is then calculated using the modeled detectors. The data we have show that LaBr3(Ce) has outstanding detection properties. This study’s findings might be used to improve the design of detectors for use in wide range of high-tech gamma spectroscopy and nuclear research applications.

Learning Through Play

The utility of physical activity, fitness to improve cognition and academic achievement is important to make pleasant learning disturbs and difficulties. PURPOSE: To verify the effects of three months of interdisciplinary physical education program on academic achievement and selective attention in children. METHODS: 60 boys and girls from 4th grade of public elementary brazilian school, underwent a Education by Movement group (EduMove) (n=39, 9.7±yr; 31.6 ± 6.2 kg; 1.4 ± 0.1 m; 17.9 ± 7.2 %body fat) with math, written and reading classes through physical education activities during a school journey (172.8±16.31bpm) (60min each class, twice a week), and a control group (Con) (n=21, 9.9±0.8yr; 30.0 ± 5.1 kg; 1.4 ± 0.1 m; 17.1 ± 8.6 %body fat) which participated at traditional classes (92.4±8.9bpm). Children performed an academic achievement standardized test (reading, writing and math), selective attention test (Stroop Go/NoGo) and anthropometric measures before and after three months. RESULTS: ANOVA revealed tricipital skinfold reduction for EduMove in comparison with CON at post test (11.8 ± 5.6 vs 12.7 ± 5.3; p=0.008), it was observed higher physical activity level for EduMovi vs CON (Δ 23.3 vs 2.9 METs; p=0.09). Children showed better results at reading capacity for EduMovi vs CON (65.2 ± 4.9 vs 64.7 ± 3.0; p=0.038). Regarding selective attention EduMovi was faster and committed less mistakes in comparison with pre test (236.1 ± 39.9 vs 327.9 ± 45.88 ms/%, Δ -90ms e -2% of mistakes p=0.09). CONCLUSIONS: A short term interdisciplinary physical education program can improve reading capacity, and selective attention in children. These results may suggest that activity breaks during a school journey could contributing to learning.

Selective attention in children with reading disorders

Objective: This work was designed to assess the selective attention in children with reading disorder (RD) using negative difference wave test (Nd) or processing negativity (PN) and Stroop test.Design: The study included 40 children, divided into two groups; study group (SG) and control group (CG). SG consisted of 20 children with [RD]. CG consists of 20 normal children. All children were submitted to basic audiological evaluation, negative difference (Nd) wave test and Stroop test.Results: The reading disorder (RD) group showed delayed latency and decreased amplitude for both components of Nd. Results of Stroop test were significantly high among children with reading disorder compared with normal control.Conclusion: In children with learning disability, selective attention is affected. Poor selective attention may contribute to poor letter and word recognition.

The Comparison of Divided, Sustained and Selective Attention in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Children with Specific Learning Disorder and Normal Children

Abstract Background: High incidence of learning disorders has caught the psychologists’ attention in recent years. Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare divided, sustained and selective attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, children with a specific learning disorder and normal children. Methods: The studywas a descriptive, causal-comparative and fundamental research. The population consisted of all childrenwith attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and children with specific learning psychology (SLD), aged 7 to 12 years old, who referredtocounselingandpsychiatric clinics inTehranin2016, aswell asnormalprimary school children. 36childrenwithattention deficit hyperactivity disorder and 47 children with specific learning difficulties were selected through convenience sampling, and 43 ordinary primary school children with cluster-randomly sampling method. Continuous performance test, word color Stroop test and theWechsler scaleswere used as the instruments of the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics alongwithmultivariate analysis of variance in Spss-21were used to analyze data. Results: The results of this study showed that weakness in divided, selective and sustained attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and children with specific learning disorder ismore than normal children (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between these variables in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and children with specific learning disorder (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The results showed that the rate of comorbidity was very high in children with attention deficit - hyperactivity disor- der and children with specific learning disorder.

Comparison of working memory, divided and selective attention in children with different types of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder- ADHD

Introduction: Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity are among the most common behavioral disorders in children which include three subgroups including inattention, hyperactivity - impulsivity (disinhibition) and mixed form. Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder might be along with basic symptoms in memory and attention and Working memory and various forms of selective and divided attention are compared in this study in hyperactive children and children with attention deficit. Method: in this study, 40 hyperactive children and children with attention deficit who have referred to children's psychiatric and occupational therapy centers in Tehran in 2016 have been selected as sample using stratified random sampling. This was a descriptive-analytic study. Data were collected using Kim Karad’s working memory test and Stroop’s selective and divided attention test. Obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software. Findings: findings showed significant difference between average working memory of three groups of children with attention deficit, hyperactivity and mixed form. In this way that working memory in mixed form group had the weakest average, attention deficit had moderate average and hyperactive had the highest average. Comparison of selective and divided attention also indicated a significant difference between groups. In this way that, selective attention of children with mixed form with the least of all and it was the highest of all in hyperactive children. Divided attention or attention management was also the weakest in mixed form group and it had a higher average than the rest in hyperactive type. Discussion and conclusion : based on objectives and method of the research which was comparative, findings showed that active visual memory was more damaged in children with mixed form compare to two types of hyperactive children or children attention deficit. Also, findings related to comparison of selective and divided attention showed that selective and divided attention was lower in hyperactive children with mixed attention deficit compared to hyperactive children and was lower than attention deficit type in the next level.

Development of selective attention in preschool-age children from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds

Although differences in selective attention skills have been identified in children from lower compared to higher socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds, little is known about these differences in early childhood, a time of rapid attention development. The current study evaluated the development of neural systems for selective attention in children from lower SES backgrounds. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were acquired from 33 children from lower SES and 14 children from higher SES backgrounds during a dichotic listening task. The lower SES group was followed longitudinally for one year. At age four, the higher SES group exhibited a significant attention effect (larger ERP response to attended compared to unattended condition), an effect not observed in the lower SES group. At age five, the lower SES group exhibited a significant attention effect comparable in overall magnitude to that observed in the 4-year-old higher SES group, but with poorer distractor suppression (larger response to the unattended condition). Together, these findings suggest both a maturational delay and divergent developmental pattern in neural mechanisms for selective attention in young children from lower compared to higher SES backgrounds. Furthermore, these findings highlight the importance of studying neurodevelopment within narrow age ranges and in children from diverse backgrounds.

Exuberance, attention bias, and externalizing behaviors in Chinese preschoolers: A longitudinal study

AbstractExuberance, a temperament type influenced by approach motivation, has been found to be associated with maladaptive behaviors such as more externalizing behaviors in early childhood. A possible mechanism underlying it is children's selective attention to environmental cues. However, few studies have investigated the effect of attention bias on the relation between exuberance and externalizing behaviors. This longitudinal study examined the association of temperamental exuberance (as assessed by behavioral observation and parental report) at 3 years old with attention bias to reward and punishment (as assessed by a spatial cueing task) and teachers' reports of externalizing behaviors at 5 years old in 153 Chinese preschool‐age children. As predicted, externalizing behaviors were positively predicted by exuberance and attention bias to reward. However, novel findings were that attention bias to punishment moderated the relation between exuberance and externalizing behaviors, such that exuberant children showed an increased risk of externalizing behaviors when they did not have high punishment bias. The results highlight attention bias to punishment as an important factor for the development of behavioral problems in exuberant children.

Emotional Processing and Attention Control Impairments in Children with Anxiety: An Integrative Review of Event-Related Potentials Findings.

Anxiety disorders in adults have been associated with biased processing of emotional information which may be due to a deficit in attentional control. This deficit leads to an hypervigilance and a selective attention toward threatening information. Event-related potentials (ERPs) have been used to study this topic in anxious adults. Similar biases have been reported in children with anxiety but researches investigating the ERPs components underpinning these biases are more scarce. However, the understanding of the neural correlates of attentional biases in anxious children seem quite important since they could play a role in the etiology and the maintenance of this disorder. This review summarizes the results of researches having used ERPs to index emotional processing and attention control in children suffering from anxiety. We will focus on the P1, indexing basic visual perceptual processing, the N2, thought to reflect cognitive control process, the P3 typically associated with response inhibition, and the late positive potential (LPP) that indicates sustained attention toward motivationally salient stimuli. We will also examine the error-related negativity (ERN) that indexes monitoring system for detecting errors. Electro-physiological studies generally reported increased amplitudes of these components in anxious children, even when they did not differ from typically developing children at a behavioral level. These results suggest diminished cognitive control that influences children's selective attention mechanisms toward threatening information. Theoretical perspectives and implications for future researches will be discussed in the framework of current models of childhood anxiety.