Measures Of Selective Attention Research Articles

Are Intellectual Processes Important in the Diagnosis and Treatment of ADHD?

It is widely accepted that there are two sets of behaviors associated with the diagnosis of attention deficit described as ADHD Hyperactive–Impulsive (ADHD–H) and ADHD Inattentive (ADHD–I) types along with a combined type that includes both dimensions. In this article we suggest that these types of ADHD should be assessed using a variety of measures and procedures but that psychometrically sound measures of basic psychological processes must be included. Assessment of the basic psychological processes addresses issues such as the role of “executive functions” in ADHD–H, the selective attention problems of those with ADHD–I, differential diagnosis of children with ADHD–H and ADHD–I as well as those with learning disabilities, and educational and behavioral treatment planning. This discussion will include references to previously published research papers but should also serve as a stimulus for needed research. Essentially, we suggest that ADHD–H can be viewed as a failure of what we (see Naglieri & Das, 2005) call Planning processing and ADHD–I is a failure of Attention processing. This discussion will begin with an examination of the connections between conceptualizations of these types of attention deficit and a theory of intelligence based on cognitive processing.

Stroop performance in bipolar disorder: further evidence for abnormalities in the ventral prefrontal cortex

Bipolar patients are impaired in Stroop task performance, a measure of selective attention. Structural and functional abnormalities in task-associated regions, in particular the prefrontal cortex (PFC), have been reported in this population. We aimed to examine the relationship between functional abnormalities, impaired task performance and the severity of depressive symptoms in bipolar patients. Remitted bipolar patients (n = 10; all medicated), either euthymic or with subsyndromal depression, and age-matched control subjects (n = 11) viewed 10 alternating blocks of incongruent Stroop and control stimuli, naming the colour of the ink. Neural response was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We computed between-group differences in neural response and within-group correlations with mood and anxiety. There were no significant between-group differences in task performance. During the Stroop condition, controls demonstrated greater activation of visual and dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortical areas; bipolar patients demonstrated relative deactivation within orbital and medial prefrontal cortices. Depression scores showed a trend towards a negative correlation with the magnitude of orbitofrontal cortex deactivation in bipolar patients, whereas state anxiety correlated positively with activation of dorsolateral PFC and precuneus in controls. Our findings confirm previous reports of decreased ventral prefrontal activity during Stroop task performance in bipolar patients, and suggest a possible negative correlation between this and depression severity in bipolar patients. These findings further highlight the ventromedial PFC as a potential candidate for illness related dysfunction in bipolar disorder.

Obtenção de dados normativos para desempenho no teste de Stroop num grupo de estudantes do ensino fundamental em Niterói

OBJETIVO: Os objetivos deste trabalho foram realizar um estudo de normatização para o teste de Stroop numa amostra brasileira, tradicionalmente aceita como medida de atenção seletiva e flexibilidade mental, usando como referência a versão Victoria do teste, bem como analisar diferenças no desempenho de estudantes de escolas das redes pública e particular, e também investigar diferenças quanto ao sexo, além de observar se aumento de idade e anos de escolaridade favorecem um melhor desempenho no teste. MÉTODOS: Cento e trinta e dois estudantes de duas escolas (uma particular e outra pública), na faixa etária de 12 a 14 anos, alunos da 6ªà8ªsérie do ensino fundamental, participaram da pesquisa após levantamento do rendimento escolar e entrevista inicial. RESULTADOS: Aanálise estatística dos resultados revelou que os alunos da escola pública tiveram um desempenho significativamente pior em relação aos da particular. Quanto à variável sexo, os resultados não foram significativos e, em relação à idade, o resultado não foi consistente, revelando que essa variável perde a significância quando analisada à luz das seis medidas dependentes do experimento. CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados sugerem a influência das diferentes condições socioeconômicas, educacionais e culturais a que estão expostos os alunos das duas escolas como uma possível explicação para as diferenças observadas no desempenho no teste.

Attention deficit and impulsivity: Selecting, shifting, and stopping

The present selective review addresses attention, inhibition, and their underlying brain mechanisms, especially in relation to attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders (AD/HD), and the effects of methylphenidate. In particular, event-related potential (ERP) studies suggest a deficit in the early-filtering aspect of selective attention in children with AD/HD. Results from stop tasks are consistent with impairments in stopping performance in AD/HD, but in children (as opposed to adults) these effects cannot be easily dissociated from more general impairments in attention to the task, and therefore an interpretation in terms of inhibitory control is not straightforward. On the other hand, the beneficial effects of methylphenidate are more specific to stopping, and there are no clearcut effects of methylphenidate on measures of selective attention. Even when group differences pertain specifically to stopping performance (as with adults with AD/HD), ERP evidence suggests at least a partial contribution of differences in switching attention to the stop signal, as revealed in measures of sensory cortex activation. ERP evidence from cued go/nogo tasks underlines the importance of taking into account the contribution of higher order control processes involved in anticipation of and preparation for task stimuli. It suggests that in certain conditions, expectancy, rather than response bias, contributes to increased behavioral response tendencies, and that a presumed index of response inhibition, the nogo N2, may rather reflect conflict monitoring. In sum, direct reflections of brain activity suggest that mechanisms of expectation and attention, rather than of response bias or inhibitory control, govern behavioral manifestations of impulsivity.

Effects of Methylphenidate on Attention Skills in Children With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the effects of methylphenidate on children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The study employed a conceptual framework of attention, consistent with contemporary theory, and including the following components: sustained attention, selective attention, divided attention, shifting attention, and speed of information processing. Fifteen children (12 boys and 3 girls) of normal intelligence, with a diagnosis of ADHD according to the DSM-IV criteria, and ranging in age from 8 to 11 years participated in the study. Children's attentional abilities were evaluated using the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch: Manly, Roberston, Anderson, & Nimmo-Smith, 1999). A double-blind counterbalanced repeated-measures design approach was employed to tap on–off medication effects, and deviations from normal. Results showed that comparisons between on–off medication conditions generally detected few differences with respect to sustained and selective attention measures and simple processing speed. In contrast, for higher-level attention domains, including shifting and divided attention, children on medication demonstrated a speed–accuracy trade-off, exhibiting greater accuracy, but slower completion times. When data from the ADHD group were compared to controls a consistent pattern emerged, with children with ADHD in the medication condition being more accurate across all attention domains on all measures. While these children also tended to record slower completion times, group differences and effect sizes were of smaller magnitude. The findings of this study suggest a possible speed–accuracy trade-off effect for children with ADHD on medication.

Detecting effects of donepezil on visual selective attention using signal detection parameters in Alzheimer's disease

Attentional function is impaired in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, attention is mediated by acetylcholine. But, despite the widespread use of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChE-I) to augment available acetylcholine in AD, measures of attentional function have not been used to assess the drug response. We hypothesized that as cholinergic augmentation impacts directly on the attentional system, higher-order measures of visual selective attention would be sensitive to effects of treatment using an AChE-I (donepezil hydrochloride). We also sought to determine whether these attentional measures were more sensitive to treatment than other measures of cognitive function. Seventeen patients with AD (8 untreated, 9 treated with donepezil) were contrasted on performance of a selective cancellation task. Two signal detection parameters were used as outcome measures: decision strategy (beta, beta) and discriminability (d-prime, d'). Standard screening and cognitive domain measures of vigilance, language, memory, and executive function were also contrasted. Treated patients judged stimuli more conservatively (p = 0.29) by correctly endorsing targets and rejecting false alarms. They also discriminated targets from distractors more easily (p = 0.58). The screening and neuropsychological measures failed to differentiate the groups. Higher-order attentional measures captured the effects of donepezil treatment in small groups of patients with AD. The results suggest that cholinergic availability may directly affect the attentional system, and that these selective attention measures are sensitive markers to detect treatment response.

Association of the dopamine transporter (DAT1) 10/10-repeat genotype with ADHD symptoms and response inhibition in a general population sample

Association between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the 10-repeat allele of the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) has been reported in independent clinical samples using a categorical clinical definition of ADHD. The present study adopts a quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach to examine the association between DAT1 and a continuous measure of ADHD behaviours in a general-population sample, as well as to explore whether there is an independent association between DAT1 and performance on neuropsychological tests of attention, response inhibition, and working memory. From an epidemiological sample of 872 boys aged 6-11 years, we recruited 58 boys scoring above the 90th percentile for teacher reported ADHD symptoms (SWAN ADHD scale) and 68 boys scoring below 10th percentile for genotyping and neuropsychological testing. A significant association was found between the DAT1 homozygous 10/10-repeat genotype and high-scoring boys (chi(2)square=4.6, P<0.03; odds ratio=2.4, 95% CI 1.1-5.0). Using hierarchical linear regression, a significant independent association was found between the DAT1 10/10-repeat genotype and measures of selective attention and response inhibition after adjusting for age, IQ, and ADHD symptoms. There was no association between DAT1 and any component of working memory. Furthermore, performance on tasks of selective attention although associated with DAT1 was not associated with SWAN ADHD high scores after controlling for age and IQ. In contrast, impairment on tasks that tapped sustained attention and the central executive component of working memory were found in high-scoring boys after adjusting for age and IQ. The results suggest that DAT1 is a QTL for continuously distributed ADHD behaviours in the general population and the cognitive endophenotype of response inhibition.

Effects of an Imagery Training Program on Selective Attention of National Softball Players

This study examined the effectiveness of an imagery training program in improving national softball players’ selective attention. A multiple-baseline design across individuals was used. There were four participants. One remained at baseline, while the other three spent 10 min a day practicing an audio-taped imagery program composed of 28 sessions. Measures of selective attention were collected via a baseball/softball batting specific version stemming from Nideffer’s (1976) Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS). The results demonstrated that the imagery training program generally enhanced the ability of softball players to integrate external stimuli without being overloaded with them and to narrow attention. Results were discussed in relation to the usefulness of multiple-baseline designs for investigating individual differences among elite athletes. Practical pedagogical considerations for coaching are proposed.

Cognitive impairments in sober alcoholics: performance on selective and divided attention tasks

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate performance on neuropsychological tasks and tasks measuring different aspects of attention in a representative sample of sober alcoholics. Methods: The study followed a between-groups design whereby sober alcoholics were compared to a matched non-alcoholic control group. The alcoholics were recruited from a six-week residential rehabilitation unit for addicts. A total of 98 alcoholics (64 males) and 30 non-alcoholic controls (22 males) participated in the study. The alcoholics were assessed on four standard neuropsychological tasks and three attention tasks from cognitive experimental literature targeted towards measuring attention. Results: In comparison to a non-alcoholic control group the alcoholics were significantly impaired on all neuropsychological tasks, the divided attention task and the Stroop task. However, a normal pattern of performance for the alcoholics appears in the Eriksen task, a measure of selective attention. Alcoholics also showed elevated levels of negative affect at treatment intake. Conclusion: It is concluded that a representative sample of alcoholics show specific deficits of attention as opposed to a general decline of attention at treatment intake. Thus, sober alcoholics appear to be as efficient as controls at selecting on the basis of location. Nonetheless when they are required to select on the basis of semantic information, as in the Stroop task, or required to respond to two independent sources of information, as in the divided attention task, they are at a deficit. This study has added to previous research by highlighting the specific attentional processes impaired in alcoholics.

Attention profile in schizophrenia compared with depression: differential effects of processing speed, selective attention and vigilance.

The aim of the study is to investigate whether subjects with schizophrenia and major depression display attention deficits for different reasons. Subjects with schizophrenia (n = 53), recurrent major depression (n = 50) and normal controls (n = 50) were administered with 11 measures of processing speed, selective attention and vigilance. Indices of basal speed, speeded attention, non-speeded attention and vigilance were computed. Both clinical groups were impaired on all chronometric tests. The schizophrenic subjects were also more impaired on speeded attention compared with basal processing speed. Only the schizophrenics were impaired on the non-speeded measures of selective attention. Compared with the schizophrenics, the depressives showed a decrement in vigilance. Reduced performance on attention tests in major depression is because of a non-specific speed reduction and loss of vigilance consistent with lack of effort. In addition to generally impaired processing speed, the schizophrenic subjects exposed a deficit in selective attention, indicating executive dysfunction.

The modified Stroop paradigm as a measure of selective attention towards pain-related information in patients with chronic low back pain.

The present study assessed, by means of a modified Stroop paradigm, whether highly fearful patients with chronic low back pain pay selective attention to words related to movement and injury. Two groups of patients (High Fear and Low Fear) were included based on their scores on the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK), a measure of fear of movement or (re)injury. A control group was recruited by means of advertisement in a local newspaper. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was conducted to examine whether highly fearful pain patients pay more selective attention to movement and injury words, compared to patients with low pain-related fear and controls. The results from the present study do not support the proposition that highly fearful patients with chronic low back pain selectively pay attention to words related to injury and movement. Limitations of the modified Stroop paradigm are discussed as well as the need for the application of alternative methods such as the dot-probe paradigm.

A linear cue combination framework for understanding selective attention.

Using a linear cue combination framework, we develop a measure of selective attention that describes the relative weight that an observer assigns to attended and unattended parts of a stimulus when making perceptual judgments. We call this measure attentional weight. We present two methods for measuring attentional weight by calculating the trial-by-trial correlation between the strength of attended and unattended parts of a stimulus and the observer's responses. We illustrate these methods in three experiments that investigate whether observers can direct selective attention according to contrast polarity when judging global direction of motion or global orientation. We find that when observers try to judge the global direction or orientation of the parts of a stimulus with a given contrast polarity (white or black), their responses are nevertheless strongly influenced by parts of the stimulus that have the opposite contrast polarity. Our measure of selective attention indicates that the influence of the opposite-polarity distractors on observers' responses is typically 65% as strong as the influence of the targets in the motion task, and typically 25% as strong as the targets in the orientation task, demonstrating that observers have only a limited ability to direct attention according to contrast polarity. We discuss some of the advantages of using a linear cue combination framework to study selective attention.

Selective attention deficits during human pregnancy

Using a longitudinal design we provide evidence that selective attention – a key component of cognition concerned with selection and preparation – is compromised during pregnancy. Selective attention was operationalized by means of the finger precuing technique, which selectively prepares two of four finger responses. The precuing benefit was taken as a measure of selective attention. Pregnant women showed a significant smaller precuing benefit at week 36 of pregnancy than did the control women, indicating loss of selective attention. Thirty-two weeks after childbirth this performance decrement had vanished, reflecting a functional recovery.

Suppressed Attention to Rejection, Ridicule, and Failure Cues: A Unique Correlate of Reactive but Not Proactive Aggression in Youth

Tested the hypothesis that reactive aggression (RA) but not proactive aggression (PA) should be associated with heightened attention to rejection, ridicule, and failure cues. In addition to a reaction time measure of selective attention, participants also completed a vignette-based interview regarding their interpretation of ambiguous social situations, and children, parents, and teachers completed questionnaire measures of child aggression and related variables. Consistent with predictions, RA but not PA was related to biased attention for rejection, ridicule, and failure cues. However, contrary to expectation, heightened RA scores were associated with suppressed rather than enhanced attention to such cues. Despite the unexpected direction of this attentional bias, as predicted it was significantly related to the well-established tendency of aggressive children to interpret ambiguous social situations as threatening, which was also uniquely related to RA. Further, the correlation between suppressed attention and RA was fully mediated by interpretation bias.

Suppressed Attention to Rejection, Ridicule, and Failure Cues: A Unique Correlate of Reactive but Not Proactive Aggression in Youth

Tested the hypothesis that reactive aggression (RA) but not proactive aggression (PA) should be associated with heightened attention to rejection, ridicule, and failure cues. In addition to a reaction time measure of selective attention, participants also completed a vignette-based interview regarding their interpretation of ambiguous social situations, and children, parents, and teachers completed questionnaire measures of child aggression and related variables. Consistent with predictions, RA but not PA was related to biased attention for rejection, ridicule, and failure cues. However, contrary to expectation, heightened RA scores were associated with suppressed rather than enhanced attention to such cues. Despite the unexpected direction of this attentional bias, as predicted it was significantly related to the well-established tendency of aggressive children to interpret ambiguous social situations as threatening, which was also uniquely related to RA. Further, the correlation between suppressed attention and RA was fully mediated by interpretation bias.

810 Autoimmune hepatitis is an important cause of acute liver failure in children

Therapeutic use of cannabidiol (CBD) in intractable epilepsies has increased considerably over the last ten years. As more evidence for the potentially beneficial effects of CBD on different epilepsy types is emerging, it is important to monitor potential cognitive and behavioral side effects. So far, studies including standardized neuropsychological data in the context of treatment with CBD in epilepsy patients are sparse. The present open-label study examines cognitive and behavioral effects of CBD in children and adults with treatment resistant epilepsy.Thirty-nine patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy completed the study protocol, i.e. they were tested at baseline (T0) and after three months of CBD treatment (T1). Patients completed standardized neuropsychological tests on memory, executive functions and attention if they were capable. For cognitively impaired patients who could not complete cognitive tests, caregiver interviews were conducted and caregiver questionnaires completed.Significant cognitive decline from T0 to T1 was observed on none of the included measures. There was a significant improvement on a measure of selective attention and on a caregiver-rated behavioral measure. More than 89% of all individual test results remained stable or showed reliable improvement from T0 to T1. Cognitive and behavioral changes from T0 to T1 were not significantly correlated with CBD dose. Improvements in short-term/working memory were significantly related to better therapy response.No adverse group-level effects of CBD treatment were detected. On an individual level, most test results remained stable or were improved. Cognitive change was not related to CBD dose. The present results show that, from a cognitive and behavioral point of view, CBD seems to have an encouraging side-effect profile. The results need to be replicated with larger samples.

The modified Stroop paradigm as a measure of selective attention towards pain-related stimuli among chronic pain patients: a meta-analysis

Although the modified Stroop paradigm is considered to be a prominent paradigm for investigating selective attention in emotional disorders, relatively few studies have applied this paradigm to examine selective attention in chronic pain patients. Moreover, the results from these studies are not robust. The purpose of this article is to review the evidence for attentional bias in chronic pain patients, by means of a meta-analysis. Data from five studies were pooled and summarized into a mean difference (MD). Significant MD estimations (in milliseconds) were found for both sensory pain words (MD=26.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) 10.0–42.9) and affective pain words (MD=28.1; 95% CI 0.4–55.8). Meta-regression analysis indicated that methodological quality did not significantly affect the pooled MD estimation for both sensory pain words and affective pain words. Thus, the results from the present meta-analysis on studies applying the modified Stroop paradigm suggest that chronic pain patients selectively attend to both pain sensory and pain affective stimuli. Furthermore, the MD estimation did not depend on the methodological quality, tentatively indicating that even though studies differed in methodology, the results were rather consistent. Implications of the results are discussed. Copyright 2002 European Federation of chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of attention in school children: teachers' ratings related to tests of attention

The paper provides (1) a teacher-administered rating instrument for inattention without confounding the rating with hyperactivity and conduct disorder, and (2) evidence that the ratings correlate with the scores obtained from cognitive tests of attention. In Study I, the first objective was to investigate the construct validity and the inter-rater reliability of the Attention Checklist (ACL) by factor analysing the teacher ratings of 110 Grade 4 children, obtained by using the ACL. The second objective was to investigate the predictive validity of the ACL by examining the relationship between the scores obtained for the participants from teachers' ratings using the ACL and the scores obtained by participants in the lab-type attention tests. The results of factor analysis showed that a single factor labelled ‘inattention’ underlies the 12 items in the ACL. Examining the differences in performance on attention tests, the ‘low attention’ children as rated by the teachers on the ACL scored lower than the ‘high attention’ children on the objective tests of attention. These findings were replicated in Study II, which was conducted to test further the construct validity and predictive validity of the ACL. This time, only those two tests (Auditory Attention and Visual Attention) that had shown relatively poor discrimination between the high and low attention groups in Study I were, again, administered to another cohort of 97 Grade 4 children, as it was our intention to further challenge the reliability of the ACL. Overall, the results of both studies suggest that comprehensive assessment of attention skills should include both ACL and objective measures of selective attention.

Dopamine may be ‘hyper’ with respect to noradrenaline metabolism, but ‘hypo’ with respect to serotonin metabolism in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Noradrenaline: Hechtman (J Psychiat Neurosci 1994;19:193) argued for a role for frontal dopamine (DA) and noradrenaline (NA) in ADHD, where Oades (Prog Neurobiol 1987;29:365) has described lateralised functional impairments. Mechanisms (e.g. via alpha-2 sites) for stimulating low NA activity in ADHD children (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1997;36:1688) in order to promote interactions with mesocortical DA have been discussed (J Psychopharmacology 1997;11:151; Psychiatr Res 1994;52:305). We described with indicators of overall transmitter metabolism (monoamines, metabolites in 24 h urine samples (Behav Brain Res 1997;88:95)) significantly lower utilisation ratios (MHPG/NA) in ADHD children with respect to healthy controls. Interestingly, a comparison of between catecholamine levels (DA/NA) showed a correlation with the conditioned blocking measure of selective attention recorded at the time of collection. This measure was negatively associated with blocking in controls. These results are consistent with reports of lower DOPEG and increased DOPAC in ADHD urine (J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 1996;6:63) and indicate that the relatively hyperactive DA versus NA systems may have functional consequences. Serotonin: the relevance for ADHD of an association of impulsivity with low serotonin (5-HT) metabolism (Behav Brain Sci 1986;9:319) has long been played down. Yet, some symptoms have been related to CSF measures of the metabolite 5-HIAA, and in particular the HVA/5-HIAA ratio has been reported to correlate with ratings of activity (Psychiatr Res 1994;52:305). We find that while urinary measures of 5-HIAA are somewhat higher, the ratio HVA/5-HIAA is markedly lower in ADHD children versus controls. In these ADHD children 5-HIAA levels were negatively related to d-prime measures in a continuous performance task (CPTax), and the HVA/5-HIAA was negatively associated with conditioned blocking. These results suggest a relatively low DA versus 5-HT activity may have functional consequences, albeit in a subgroup of ADHD. This is consistent with drug-induced prolactin changes reported by Verbaten et al. (Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1999;8:30).

Clinical and cognitive factors associated with verbal memory task performance in patients with schizophrenia.

The authors have previously shown the role of depression, slowing of processing speed, and selective attention deficit in verbal memory task performance in schizophrenia. They wished to determine the specific contribution of each of these factors to various types of memory impairment. The negative symptom score from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score, a measure of processing speed, and a measure of selective attention were entered as predictors in regression analyses. Furthermore, analyses of covariance were conducted on the memory measures to test the significance of the differences between schizophrenic patients and healthy comparison subjects after control for processing speed and selective attention. Depression was associated only with deep encoding reflected by semantic clustering. Selective attention was associated only with superficial encoding reflected by serial recall. Slowing of processing speed was associated with both deep and superficial encoding. Negative symptoms were not associated with memory impairment except for the avolition item from the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms. Processing speed accounted for all the group differences on the memory measures that reflected superficial encoding. In addition, a subgroup of patients with no or minor depression was not significantly impaired on deep encoding relative to the healthy comparison group. The authors suggest that verbal memory impairment in schizophrenia is a consequence of depression and slowness, rather than a primary feature of the disease.