Development Of Attention Functions Research Articles

Development of neuropsychological functions of attention in two cultures: A cross-cultural study of attentional performances of Syrian and German children of pre-school and school age

We tested the development of attentional functions within Syrian and German children of pre-school and school age (n = 562, 5–12 years), using the Test of Attentional Performance for Children (KITAP). After controlling the intelligence (IQ) and socioeconomic status (SES), age-related improvements were found in all the attentional functions, with rapid improvements between 8 and 10 years. Gender differences were also found in some attention performances. More importantly, cultural differences were also evident. The performance in the activation functions “Alertness” and “Vigilance” were independent from cultural background, whereas performances in Sustained Attention, in functions of visuospatial orienting (Visual Scanning) and executive systems (Divided Attention, Flexibility and Distractibility) revealed cultural differences. In general, the Syrian children showed slower performances, higher variability of responses and more errors compared with German children. The overall results of the study supports the universal development of attention functions during school age, and show that attention performances could be influenced by characteristics of the cultural background (Arabic-Syrian: collectivistic–dependent; and Western German: individualistic–independent).

Development of attention functions in 5- to 11-year-old Arab children as measured by the German Test Battery of Attention Performance (KITAP): A pilot study from Syria

We administered the German Test-battery of Attention Performance (KITAP) to Arab children living in Syria (N = 143, 5–11 years) in order to assess the influence of age and gender on different dimensions of attention. The results demonstrate the validity of cross-cultural application of KITAP with Syrian school-aged children. The influence of age was more evident on speed of performance than on quality of performance, with rapid, general improvement until the age of 9 years. Some attention functions like alertness and inhibitory control seemed to be developed earlier than other functions like, flexibility, distractibility, and divided attention. Gender-related differences were observed in some subtests: Boys had faster reaction times but made more errors than girls. Interestingly, Arab-Syrian children showed better performance on some attention tests compared with German norms. The present study provides support for the use of cross-cultural studies for better understanding of the development of attention in school-aged children.

Measurement of development of cognitive and attention functions in children using continuous performance test

The development of attention function in children is still not sufficiently clear. Although it is difficult to objectively assess attention function, continuous performance tests (CPT) can be used to objectively assess cognitive function along with attention. The development of cognitive and attention functions was examined in children using a CPT. A total of 541 healthy girls aged 5-12 years participated. Ten parameters were calculated: numbers of cancellations for either target stimuli (T-cancel) or non-target stimuli (N-cancel), numbers of omission errors (Omission) and commission errors (Commission), hit rate (Hit), false alarm rate (False), mean reaction time for correct response (RT), coefficient of variance for mean reaction time (CVRT), sensitivity index (d'), and lnbeta. The parameters were divided into three types based on pattern of change. T-cancel, False, and Commission, which are related to inhibition of response, N-cancel, Hit, and Omission, which are related to inattention to stimuli, and CVRT, which is related to stability of processing time, exhibited significant change until 5 or 6 years of age. d', which is related to ability to discriminate between target or non-target, exhibited significant change until 8 years of age. RT, which is related to processing time, exhibited significant change until 11 years of age. lnbeta exhibited no significant differences among age groups. These findings indicate that inhibition function, inattention to stimuli, and stability of processing time develop first. Discrimination ability subsequently increases based on these developments, and finally processing time is reduced.

BOEL Screening: A Program for the early detection of communicative disorders: Preliminary Reports from a Study on 1 000 Finnish Infants

Programs for infant screening of communicative disorders should cover the need for information about the development of attention functions--auditory, visual and tactile at an age when the child is on the doorstep of speech acquisition, i.e. before 1 year of age. BOEL is a new screening test, constructed to cheek the capacity of giving priority to signals for hearing, sight and motor attention in infants around 8 months of age. The child's innate program to follow an interesting signal, grasp it and investigate it with his mouth, turn his head after it, and smile responsively is tested with the help of two visual stimuli and four sound sources, ranging between 4 000 and 12 500 Hz. BOEL is meant to be used within the routine health check-ups of, for example, well-baby clinics.