Intellectual Ability In Children Research Articles

The Effect of Music Intervention on Attention in Children: Experimental Evidence.

Although music has been utilized as a therapeutic tool for children with cognitive impairments, how it improves children’s cognitive function remains poorly understood. As a first step toward understanding music’s effectiveness and as a means of assessing cognitive function improvement, we focused on attention, which plays an important role in cognitive development, and examined the effect of a music intervention on children’s attention. Thirty-five children, aged 6 to 9 years, participated in this study, with data from 29 of the children being included in the analysis. A single 30-minute interactive music intervention was compared with a single 30-minute interactive video game intervention accompanied by computer-generated background music using a within-subjects repeated-measures design. Each intervention was implemented individually. Participants completed a standardized attention assessment, the Test of Everyday Attention for Children, before and after both interventions to assess changes in their attentional skills. The results indicated significant improvement in attention control/switching following the music intervention after controlling for the children’s intellectual abilities, while no such changes were observed following the video game intervention. This study provides the first evidence that music interventions may be more effective than video game interventions to improve attention control in children, and furthers our understanding of the importance of music interventions for children with attention control problems.

Evaluation of Pb concentrations in selected vegetables and portable drinking water, and intelligent quotients of school children in Ishiagu-a Pb mining community: health risk assessment using predictive modelling.

This study evaluates the concentrations of lead (Pb) in 6 selected vegetables and drinking water samples taken from an agricultural/mining town Ishiagu. This evaluation is important because these vegetables and water are major gateway of lead exposure through ingestion, especially children in the Pb mining environment. Pb at even very low concentrations has been shown to have adverse effect on developing brain and hence children's intellectual ability. The impact of lead-contaminated food/water intake on the cognitive function was focused on school children whose parents have lived in the Pb mining town for over 25years before they were born. Non-invasive, "target risk quotient" (TRQ) methodology, based on the principle of predictive toxicology was adopted for our analysis. Samples of these vegetables harvested in July and August 2015, and water taken from homes at 4 different villages in Ishiagu town and neighbouring community Akaeze (control), were subjected to appropriate chemical treatment/digestion procedures and the concentrations of Pb determined using AA-700 Shimadzu model atomic absorption spectrophotometer. From 642 structured questionnaire administered to the teachers/children, the daily vegetable ingestion rates for each vegetable (mg/child/day) and estimated daily intakes (EDI) of lead were obtained. The results show that the concentrations of Pb in water samples and the 6 vegetables harvested from the lead mining town vary as distances increase from the mining sites while the total target hazard quotients (TTHQs) for the vegetable crops were greater than one (˃1). The cognitive functions of 160 school children (aged 6-8years), sampled from 265 families based on their meeting the criteria for distances away from the mining site, were evaluated using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices and psychometrics. The data generated were analysed using (SPSS) version 21.0 and results expressed as mean ± standard deviation of intelligent quotient (IQ). Students' t tests for independent samples were used to compare the IQ results for children in the lead mining area and non-mining area. A model based on predictive toxicology paradigm which can show a relationship between concentrations of lead in vegetables/water and cognitive function was developed. This model shows that there is a positive correlation between total lead concentrations in vegetables/water and children's cognitive function.

Psychological and pedagogical foundations for the development of critical thinking of students

The article is determined by the social order of society and the state for a creative, purposeful person with critical thinking, able to create new and transform existing ways of organizing educational activities. Modern educational programs provide a large amount of information for children, however, applying this knowledge is very problematic. Therefore, the application of critical thinking development technology allows the teacher to build a lesson in the form of group lessons, create an atmosphere of partnership in the classroom, and jointly find a solution to the problem. Thus, the use of this technology in the educational process ensures the productive development of the child's intellectual abilities.

Fluoride exposure from infant formula and child IQ in a Canadian birth cohort

BackgroundInfant consumption of formula reconstituted with fluoridated water can lead to excessive fluoride intake. We examined the association between fluoride exposure in infancy and intellectual ability in children who lived in fluoridated or non-fluoridated cities in Canada. MethodsWe examined 398 mother-child dyads in the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals cohort who reported drinking tap water. We estimated water fluoride concentration using municipal water reports. We used linear regression to analyze the association between fluoride exposure and IQ scores, measured by the Wechsler Primary and Preschool Scale of Intelligence-III at 3–4 years. We examined whether feeding status (breast-fed versus formula-fed) modified the impact of water fluoride and if fluoride exposure during fetal development attenuated this effect. A second model estimated the association between fluoride intake from formula and child IQ. ResultsThirty-eight percent of mother-child dyads lived in fluoridated communities. An increase of 0.5 mg/L in water fluoride concentration (approximately equaling the difference between fluoridated and non-fluoridated regions) corresponded to a 9.3- and 6.2-point decrement in Performance IQ among formula-fed (95% CI: −13.77, −4.76) and breast-fed children (95% CI: −10.45, −1.94). The association between water fluoride concentration and Performance IQ remained significant after controlling for fetal fluoride exposure among formula-fed (B = −7.93, 95% CI: −12.84, −3.01) and breastfed children (B = −6.30, 95% CI: −10.92, −1.68). A 0.5 mg increase in fluoride intake from infant formula corresponded to an 8.8-point decrement in Performance IQ (95% CI: −14.18, −3.34) and this association remained significant after controlling for fetal fluoride exposure (B = −7.62, 95% CI: −13.64, −1.60). ConclusionsExposure to increasing levels of fluoride in tap water was associated with diminished non-verbal intellectual abilities; the effect was more pronounced among formula-fed children.

РОЗВИТОК ІНТЕЛЕКТУАЛЬНИХ ЗДІБНОСТЕЙ У ПРОЦЕСІ НАВЧАЛЬНО-ІГРОВОЇ ВЗАЄМОДІЇ

Стаття присвячена проблемі розвитку інтелектуальних здібностей у дітей молодшого шкільного віку. Шлях її вирішення лежить через активну форму психодидактичної взаємодії. Такою ми вбачаємо дидактичну гру. В ній гармонійно поєднується гра та навчання. 
 Роблячи цей вибір, ми виходили з тих міркувань, що у перших класах відбувається адаптація до навчального процесу, а також зміна провідної діяльності. У цьому контексті найкраще підходить дидактична гра, яка забезпечує плавний перехід до нової провідної діяльності – навчання. Відповідно, запропонована модель педагогічної взаємодії це, комплекс елементів навчально-ігрової взаємодії спрямований на розвиток пізнавальної сфери та інтелектуальних здібностей дітей молодшого шкільного віку.

POPULARIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE SPHERE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: WHEN, HOW AND WHY WOULD WE DO IT?

In the article the issue on popularization of knowledge in the sphere of intellectual property in the educational establishments is examined.As of today, the system of general secondary and professional education does not provide for systematic measures on popularization of knowledge on intellectual property.Economic and jurisprudential subjects as well as elective courses in the school have substantial potential for the popularization and providing children with knowledge on the basics of intellectual property which, unfortunately, is not yet exploited.The specialty «Intellectual Property» relates to such fields of knowledge as «Management and Administration» and «Law». Not that many chairs on intellectual property try to popularize knowledge on intellectual property and to attract more students to acquire this knowledge. In view of the complexity and interdisciplinary of the mentioned specialty there is a problem of insufficient informational work on the relevance and the practical need for the professionals of this qualification in the sphere of intellectual property education.The existing problematic issues and proposed ways of their solving are addressed in an integrated manner with consideration of international experience. In particular, the example of the Republic of Korea was considered in detail where the popularization of knowledge on intellectual property begins at childhood. Raise awarenessamong students (elementary school, middle school and high school) on copyright through the experience-oriented program within the school curriculum (e.g. extracurricular activities or creative discretional activities). Teachers in charge will receive training in advance and acquaint themselves with copyright concept and educational methodology. Training programs are designed to meet the needs of young people and are formed from the consideration and analysis of cases found in everyday life.Ukraine needs to unite as many participants as possible to develop and further implement the National IP Strategy, a separate block of which envisages the formation of a high level of culture and education in the sphere of intellectual property. To nurture respect for intellectual property rights from childhood, to encourage young children of primary school age to learn about this extremely interesting and useful sphere, to create the conditions for the development of children's intellectual abilities, children's invention, using international experience and cooperation.

The Interplay Between Multisensory Associative Learning and IQ in Children.

This study assessed the developmental profile of unisensory and multisensory processes, and their contribution to children's intellectual abilities (8- and 11-year olds, N=38, compared to adults, N=19) using a simple audiovisual detection task and three incidental associative learning tasks with different sensory signals: visual-verbal with pseudowords, novel audiovisual, and visual-visual. The level of immaturity throughout childhood was dependent on both, the sensory signal type and the task. Associative learning was significantly enhanced with verbal sounds, compared to novel audiovisual and unisensory visual learning. Visual-verbal learning was also the best predictor of children's general intellectual abilities. The results demonstrate a separate developmental trajectory for visual and verbal multisensory processes and independent contributions to the development of cognitive abilities throughout childhood.

Agreement between telehealth and face-to-face assessment of intellectual ability in children with specific learning disorder

Introduction Access to cognitive assessments for children living remotely is limited. Telehealth represents a potential cost- and time-effective solution. A pilot study was conducted to determine the feasibility of telehealth to assess cognitive function in children with learning difficulties. Methods Thirty-three children (median age = 9 years 11 months), recruited from the New South Wales (NSW) Centre for Effective Reading, underwent assessment of intellectual ability. Comparisons were made between the intellectual ability index scores obtained by a psychologist sitting face-to-face with the children and another psychologist via telehealth using a web-based platform, Coviu. Results The telehealth administration method yielded comparable results to the face-to-face method. Correlation analyses showed high associations between the testing methodologies on the intellectual ability indices (correlation coefficient range = 0.981–0.997). Discussion Findings indicate that telehealth may be an alternative to face-to-face cognitive assessment. Future work in a broader range of cognitive tests and wider range of clinical populations is warranted.

Delayed transplantation may affect intellectual ability in children.

Decline in neurocognitive function is a reported complication in children with chronic illness. Concerns have been increasing that exposure to a major surgery or trauma may negatively affect cognitive performance in children. This study evaluated cognitive function in 43 Korean children who received organ transplantation (Tx), and sought to identify associated clinical factors. Pediatric recipients of kidney (KT) or liver Tx (LT) from 1999 to 2011 were recruited for cognitive tests. Cognitive function was evaluated using intelligence quotient (IQ), social quotient (SQ), and Continuous Performance Test using Advanced Test for Attention scores, which reflect attention ability. Intellectual delay was graded as intellectual disability (ID; IQ <70) or low intelligence (LI; IQ<85). Diagnosis for attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was made by pediatric psychiatrists. The subjects consisted of 43 pediatric recipients of 28 LT and 15 KT. There were 20 boys (46.5%). Median age was 3.1years (range, 0.5-15.3years) at Tx. Median age at cognitive evaluation was 12.9years (range, 3.4-18.4years). Median pre-Tx duration of illness was 1.6years (range, 0-13.5years). The prevalence of ID, LI, and ADHD was 11.6%, 32.5%, and 32.5%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, longer pre-Tx duration of illness was a significant factor for LI (OR, 1.263; 95%CI: 1.033-1.544, P=0.023). Longer pre-Tx duration may negatively affect intellectual ability in Korean children. Pre-Tx duration was more significant than the age at Tx or total disease duration per se. Early Tx may be beneficial for cognitive function in children.

Maternal intelligence quotient (IQ) predicts IQ and language in very preterm children at age 5years.

Sociodemographic factors are linked to cognitive outcomes in children born very preterm (VPT; ≤30weeks gestation). The influence of maternal intellectual ability, a heritable trait, is unknown. Also undetermined is the extent to which associations between maternal and child intellectual ability vary according to parenting behaviors that target cognitive stimulation in the home. At age 5years, 84 VPT and 38 demographically matched full-term (FT) children underwent neurodevelopmental assessment. Children's intellectual ability was assessed using The Wechsler Preschool Primary Scale of Intelligence-III, and language was assessed with the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Preschool-2. The Wechsler Test of Adult Reading estimated maternal intellectual ability. The StimQ-Preschool questionnaire provided a measure of cognitive stimulation in the home. Linear mixed-effects models examined independent effects and interactions between maternal intellectual ability and cognitive stimulation on children's outcomes. After covariate adjustment, maternal intellectual ability was associated with child intellectual (p<.001) and language (p=.002) abilities. Stronger associations were observed in FT mother-child dyads (B=.63, p=.04) than VPT dyads (B=.42, p=.01). Mothers of VPT children reported lower levels of Parental Involvement in Developmental Advance (p=.007) and Parental Verbal Responsiveness (p=.04). Group differences in Parental Involvement in Developmental Advance, but not Parental Verbal Responsivity, persisted after adjusting for social background (p=.03). There was no evidence of an interaction between maternal intellectual ability and Parental Involvement in Developmental Advance (p=.34). Instead, maternal intellectual ability (p<.001) and Parental Involvement in Developmental Advance (p=.05) independently predicted VPT children's outcomes. Maternal intellectual ability is an important trait linked to VPT and FT children's intellectual and language outcomes. Prematurity increases variation in the heritability of intellectual ability and shifts children from the expected range based on maternal ability. Parental involvement in activities that help children master new skills may promote cognitive development in VPT children born to mothers of lower intellectual ability.

Beware of Intelligence Results Based on Common Verbal Tests

Intelligence (IQ) tests are used to determine a child's intellectual abilities relative to his or her age group. Results are used to diagnose learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and giftedness; and to inform psychoeducational interventions and student education plans. The majority of tasks on intelligence tests require vision, such as visual pattern recognition. Therefore, psychologists typically use verbal sections, especially vocabulary tests, to assess students who have visual impairments. In a recent study (Morash & McKerracher, 2016), we investigated whether a common vocabulary test produced scores from children with visual impairments that were reliable. We found that reliability was not high enough to be used for high-stakes decisions, such as determining diagnoses or educational programming. Therefore, we do not recommend common verbal tests developed for sighted children be used with children who have visual impairments. Practitioners need to be wary and watchful of any diagnoses based on inappropriate intelligence measures. Previously noted issues with sighted-normed verbal tests Prior to our study, other researchers had not considered whether administering common verbal tests to children with visual impairments may produce scores with low reliability (see, for example, Crepeau-Hobson & Vujeva, 2012; Nelson, Dial, & Joyce, 2002). Instead the literature noted that using only verbal tests neglects important nonverbal abilities, such as spatial reasoning, which results in an incomplete assessment of intellectual functioning (Bauman & Kropf, 1979; Dekker, 1993; Gutterman, Ward, & Genshaft, 1985; Lund, Miller, & Ganz, 2014; Miller & Skillman, 2003). In addition, scores on common verbal tests are compared to normative data (norms) from sighted children, which may not be appropriate (see, for example, Dekker, 1993; Hull & Mason, 1995; Tillman & Bashaw, 1968; Vander Kolk, 1977). Comparison to norms reveals whether the child scored below or above average for his age group, and by how much; resulting in an IQ score and possible diagnosis of learning disability, intellectual disability, or giftedness. However, children with visual impairments tend to score higher or lower than their sighted peers on many tasks, for reasons other than their intelligence. For example, they tend to score higher on tests of verbal working memory (see, for example, Hull & Mason, 1995), presumably due to daily practice using verbal working memory strategies, such as counting steps, to complete tasks without vision. Although scores may be inflated or deflated due to using sighted norms, it has been suggested that sighted-normed verbal tests can be useful in providing insight into the child's functioning relative to sighted peers (Dial & Dial, 2010), to track a child's performance over time, and to compare children with visual impairments to one another. Unfortunately, these uses are invalidated by low reliability. Low reliability of sighted-normed verbal tests Reliability refers to the consistency of test scores. Low reliability is a separate, and possibly more severe, problem than inflated or deflated scores. If test scores have low reliability, an unacceptably large part of the score is due to random error--as if a coin flip determines a large part of a child's score and diagnosis. Scores with low reliability have limited value for comparing performance over time and across children, since psychologists cannot trust that scores reflect meaningful variations instead of random errors. Although common verbal tests produce scores with good reliability for sighted children, they are not guaranteed to do so with children who have visual impairments (Loevinger, 1957). It is not unreasonable to expect differential functioning, because children who have visual impairments can experience atypical conceptual and semantic development (see, for example, Pring, Freestone, & Katan, 1988). …

It is the examinee's IQ.

In response to the question "Whose IQ is it?" raised by McDermott, Watkins, and Rhoad (2014), this study examined the same concern about assessor bias by applying hierarchical linear modeling to a large and representative standardization sample of 2,200 child records in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). When differences in child age, gender, ethnicity, parental education level, and some intellectual abilities were cojointly used as covariates to adjust for nonrandom assignment problems, the results revealed that the Level 2 assessor variance was trivial for Full Scale IQ and all WISC-IV scores, ranging from 1%-5%, with the only exception being the Comprehension subtest, which showed a moderate level of between-assessor variance (10%). Evidence shows that WISC-IV scores are valid measures of children's intellectual abilities, with no evidence showing harmful assessor bias. (PsycINFO Database Record

BAT-7, BATERÍA DE APTITUDES DE TEA: DESCRIPCIÓN Y DATOS PSICOMÉTRICOS

Abstract:BAT-7, TEA ABILITIES BATTERY: DESCRIPTION AND PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIESBAT-7 is a new psychometric tool for assessing three intellectual domains, general factor (g), fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystallized intelligence (Gc), and eight cognitive abilities: Verbal (V), Spatial (E), Attention (A) and Concentration (CON), Reasoning (R), Numerical (N), Mechanical (M) and Orthography (O). It consists of three forms of increasing difficulty (E, M and S) and it is focused on the assessment of school and college students, as well as adults with different educational background. The present study aims to provide a description of the BAT-7 development and the main features of it, and a summary of its psychometric properties, mainly its reliability and validity. BAT-7 was administered to a Spanish standardization sample of 4,263 students (age between 12 and 18) and 1,507 adults. Reliability was studied with ordinal alpha, Cronbach’s alpha and tests information functions. Validity was explored by multigroup CFA. 3P IRT model showed a statistical fit for all items. Ordinal alpha ranged from .79 to .91 for test scores and from .91 to .97 for composite scores. The model based on CHC theory showed a good fit to the observed data (RMSEA=.034; SRMR=.026; CFI=.981). The results, in terms of TRI model fitting, reliability and validity, suggest that the BAT-7 is a useful, flexible and highly reliable test for assessing the cognitive abilities, and provide evidences supporting the use of the battery for the assessment of intellectual abilities in children and adults. An estimate of general ability (g), fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystallized intelligence (Gc) also can be obtained by applying the BAT-7.Keywords: Intelligence, cognitive abilities, assessment, g factor.Resumen:El BAT-7 es una nueva batería que permite estimar la inteligencia (factor general, g; inteligencia fluida, Gf; e inteligencia cristalizada, Gc) y evaluar 8 aptitudes cognitivas: razonamiento verbal (V), de razonamiento espacial (E), atención (A) y Concentración (Con), razonamiento abstracto (R), razonamiento numérico (N), razonamiento mecánico (M) y ortografía (O). Se compone de tres formas o niveles de dificultad creciente (Elemental, Medio y Superior) y está diseñada para la evaluación intelectual colectiva e individual de los estudiantes de E. Secundaria y universitarios, así como adultos con diferentes niveles educativos. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo ofrecer una descripción del desarrollo de la prueba y de las principales características de la misma así como un resumen de sus propiedades psicométricas, fundamentalmente de su fiabilidad y validez. La muestra de tipificación española estuvo formada por 4.263 alumnos (de 1.º de ESO hasta 2.º de Bachillerato) y 1.507 adultos de diferente nivel educativo y edad. La fiabilidad fue estudiada por medio de las funciones de información y de los coeficientes alfa de Cronbach y alfa ordinal. La validez se exploró mediante análisis factoriales confirmatorios multigrupo (ACF). Los ítems que componen cada prueba muestran un buen ajuste al modelo TRI de tres parámetros utilizado. Los valores del alfa ordinal variaron de 0,79 hasta 0,91 para las puntuaciones de la prueba y 0,91-0,97 para las puntuaciones compuestas o índices. El modelo factorial basado en la teoría CHC mostró un buen ajuste a los datos observados (RMSEA = 0,034 ; SRMR = 0,026 ; CFI = 0,981). Los resultados obtenidos en términos de ajuste al modelo de TRI, fiabilidad y validez indican que el BAT-7 es una medida útil, flexible y altamente fiable para la evaluación de las aptitudes cognitivas y aportan evidencias que apoyan el uso de la batería para la evaluación de las aptitudes intelectuales en escolares y adultos. Igualmente, mediante su aplicación puede obtenerse una estimación de la capacidad general (g), de la inteligencia fluida (Gf) y de la inteligencia cristalizada (Gc).Palabras clave: Inteligencia, aptitudes intelectuales, evaluación, factor g.

Guidelines for preparing psychological specialists: An entry-level course on intellectual assessment

This article provides guidelines for an entry-level course that prepares psychology students and practitioners to acquire entry-level skills, abilities, knowledge, and attitudes important to the individual assessment of intellectual abilities of children and youth. The article reviews prominent international, regional, and national policies, guidelines, and standards for test development and use, basic training issues, acquisition of competence in core professional behaviors, the identification of clinical assessment skills; scholarship that supports this entry-level course, and national and institutional issues related to psychological assessment. The guidelines are consistent with the International School Psychology Association and the International Testing Commission's recommendations and provide experiences based on U.S. context. The need to adjust course content and instructional methods in light of local conditions is recognized.

Children's intellectual ability is associated with structural network integrity

Recent structural and functional neuroimaging studies of adults suggest that efficient patterns of brain connectivity are fundamental to human intelligence. Specifically, whole brain networks with an efficient small-world organization, along with specific brain regions (i.e., Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory, P-FIT) appear related to intellectual ability. However, these relationships have not been studied in children using structural network measures. This cross-sectional study examined the relation between non-verbal intellectual ability and structural network organization in 99 typically developing healthy preadolescent children. We showed a strong positive association between the network's global efficiency and intelligence, in which a subtest for visuo-spatial motor processing (Block Design, BD) was prominent in both global brain structure and local regions included within P-FIT as well as temporal regions involved with pattern and form processing. BD was also associated with rich club organization, which encompassed frontal, occipital, temporal, hippocampal, and neostriatal regions. This suggests that children's visual construction ability is significantly related to how efficiently children's brains are globally and locally integrated. Our findings indicate that visual construction and reasoning may make general demands on globally integrated processing by the brain.

Postshunt lateral ventricular volume, white matter integrity, and intellectual outcomes in spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

No previous reports exist that have evaluated the relationships of white matter (WM) integrity with the number of shunt revisions, ventricular volume after shunting, and cognition in medically stable children who have spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH). The authors hypothesized that enlarged ventricles and a greater number of shunt revisions decrease WM integrity in children. In total, 80 children (mean age 13.7 years) who had SBH underwent MRI and IQ testing. Probabilistic diffusion tractography was performed to determine mean diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics along the frontal and parietal tectocortical pathways. The DTI metrics were evaluated for significant correlation with a composite IQ measure and with the total number of shunt revisions and the total lateral ventricular volume obtained through semiautomated parcellation of T1-weighted MRI scans. An enlargement in total lateral ventricle volume and an increase in the number of shunt revisions were both associated with higher fractional anisotropy (FA) and with lower radial diffusivity (RD) along both frontal and parietal tectocortical pathways. Children who had not undergone a shunt revision had on average a greater lateral ventricle volume and higher FA and lower RD along frontal and parietal pathways than those who had undergone multiple shunt revisions. The mean DTI metrics along parietal pathways predicted IQ scores, but intellectual ability was not significantly correlated with ventricular volume or with the number of lifetime shunt revisions. Significant changes in DTI metrics were observed as a function of ventricular volume. An increased lateral ventricle volume was associated with elevated FA and decreased RD. Given that the participants were medically stable at the time of the MRI examination, the results suggested that those who have enlarged ventricles show a DTI pattern consistent with axonal compression due to increased intracranial pressure (ICP) in attenuated hydrocephalus. Although limited by a cross-sectional design, the study's findings suggest that DTI metrics may serve as sensitive indicators for chronic, mild hydrocephalus in the absence of overt clinical symptoms due to increased ICP. Having enlarged ventricles and undergoing multiple shunt revisions did not affect intellectual ability in children with SBH.

Does numerical processing uniquely predict first graders’ future development of single-digit arithmetic?

The present longitudinal study investigated whether children's numerical processing skills at the start of formal schooling predict subsequent development in single-digit arithmetic and fact retrieval. At the start of first grade, we administered measures of numerical processing (digit naming, symbolic numerical magnitude comparison, nonsymbolic numerical magnitude comparison) as well as measures of intellectual ability, preschool mathematical abilities, working memory and processing speed. Our longitudinal data indicate that children's numerical processing skills at primary school entrance were predictively related to their future competence in single-digit arithmetic and their reliance on arithmetic fact retrieval. This association was not explained by children's intellectual ability, preschool mathematical abilities, verbal working memory, visual-spatial short-term memory and processing speed. These findings indicate that numerical processing skills precede children's development in single-digit arithmetic.

Effect of Prenatal Lead Exposure on Intellectual Ability of 84-Month-Old Japanese Children

BACKGROUND: Postnatal lead exposure has been shown to be associated with poor intellectual ability in children, although the effects of prenatal exposure are less well studied. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of low cord-blood lead concentrations with intellectual ability in Japanese children. METHODS: We have been conducting a prospective cohort study, the Tohoku Study of Child Development, to examine the effects of perinatal exposure to chemical substances on neurobehavioral development in Japanese children. A total of 599 singleton births were recruited during 2001-2003, and 364 had complete data for all included covariates for this analysis. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) was used to assess the intellectual ability in children 84 months old. We assessed lead as well as other chemical substances such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), total mercury (THg), and selenium in cord blood and used these variables as confounders. RESULTS: The median values of chemicals were 1.0 (5th and 95th percentiles, 0.5 - 1.8) µg/dL for lead, 47.6 (17.1 - 115.9) ng/g-lipid for total PCB, 10.1 (4.2 - 22.2) ng/g for total mercury (THg), and 191.6 (128.8 - 268.5) ng/mL for selenium in whole cord blood. A negative association between the lead concentration and the performance IQ (PIQ) of the WISC-III was observed (ß=-0.103, p=0.043) even after adjusting for total PCB, THg, selenium in cord blood and confounders such as child gender, birth order, and family annual income. CONCLUSION: The findings are consistent with other reports about the adverse impact of prenatal lead exposure on the intellectual ability of children, although these associations appeared at relatively low exposure levels.

Measuring intellectual ability in children with cerebral palsy: can we do better?

Standard intelligence tests such as the WPPSI-III have limitations when testing children with motor impairment. This study aimed to determine the proportion of children with cerebral palsy with sufficient verbal and motor skills to complete the WPPSI-III, to determine their comparative ability to complete tasks with and without a significant motor component, and to investigate short forms of the WPPSI-III as alternatives. Participants were 78 of 235 eligible 4-5 year old children with cerebral palsy resident in the Australian state of Victoria. Verbal IQ (VIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ), and Full-scale IQ (FSIQ) were determined using the WPPSI-III. Initial screening for pointing and verbal abilities determined which tests were attempted. The impact of speed was investigated by comparing scores on the Block Design subtest with and without an imposed time limit. FSIQ scores were calculated from two short forms of the WPPSI-III and compared to the full form. On screening, 16 children had inadequate pointing (14) and verbal abilities (2). FSIQ was obtained in 62 (82%) children. Strong associations were seen between completion of the entire test battery and topographical pattern, level of manual ability and level of gross motor function. Scores on subtests requiring manual ability were depressed relative to other scores. Children performed better using short forms of the WPPSI-III and, for a minority, when time limits were disregarded. In summary, children with cerebral palsy often lack the fine and gross motor skills necessary to complete the WPPSI-III, scoring relatively poorly on tasks requiring a fine motor response. Using short-form estimations of FSIQ comprised of subtests without a significant fine motor component has the potential to increase a child's FSIQ by approximately 5 points. These findings have important clinical implications when assessing a child with both motor and cognitive limitations.

Single nucleotide polymorphism in the neuroplastin locus associates with cortical thickness and intellectual ability in adolescents

Despite the recognition that cortical thickness is heritable and correlates with intellectual ability in children and adolescents, the genes contributing to individual differences in these traits remain unknown. We conducted a large-scale association study in 1583 adolescents to identify genes affecting cortical thickness. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; n=54 837) within genes whose expression changed between stages of growth and differentiation of a human neural stem cell line were selected for association analyses with average cortical thickness. We identified a variant, rs7171755, associating with thinner cortex in the left hemisphere (P=1.12 × 10−7), particularly in the frontal and temporal lobes. Localized effects of this SNP on cortical thickness differently affected verbal and nonverbal intellectual abilities. The rs7171755 polymorphism acted in cis to affect expression in the human brain of the synaptic cell adhesion glycoprotein-encoding gene NPTN. We also found that cortical thickness and NPTN expression were on average higher in the right hemisphere, suggesting that asymmetric NPTN expression may render the left hemisphere more sensitive to the effects of NPTN mutations, accounting for the lateralized effect of rs7171755 found in our study. Altogether, our findings support a potential role for regional synaptic dysfunctions in forms of intellectual deficits.