Flexibilidad cognitiva y tres procesos inhibitorios durante los primeros años de la escolaridad primaria / Cognitive flexibility and three inhibitory processes during the first years of school period

La inhibición y la flexibilidad cognitiva son funciones ejecutivas principales, mientras la primera aportaría al funcionamiento de la segunda. Actualmente, se identifican distintos procesos inhibitorios -inhibición perceptual, cognitiva y de la respuesta- que presentarían relaciones diferenciales con diversas habilidades. Sin embargo, no se registran estudios sobre tales relaciones con la flexibilidad cognitiva durante los primeros años escolares, donde estas funciones están en desarrollo y contribuyen con el desempeño escolar. Este trabajo se propuso estudiar la relación y contribución de cada proceso inhibitorio a la flexibilidad cognitiva en niños escolares de 6 a 8 años. Los participantes (N=171) efectuaron tareas inhibitorias y de flexibilidad cognitiva. Los resultados muestran una relación baja entre la inhibición perceptual y la flexibilidad cognitiva y ausencia de relaciones con los otros procesos inhibitorios. Ello aporta evidencia al modelo no-unitario de la inhibición y permite discutir sobre la relación de los procesos durante el desarrollo(AU)

Inhibition and cognitive flexibility are basic executive functions, and inhibition would contribute to performance of cognitive flexibility. Actually, different inhibitory processes are identified ­perceptual, cognitive and response inhibition. They engagement differentially in diverse skills; however, studies about differential relationships between inhibitory processes and cognitive flexibility during first years of school period are not registered. At this stage, all of these functions are in development and are essential for children's academic performance. The goal of this work is to study the relation and contribution of each inhibitory process with the cognitive flexibility, in scholar children from 6 to 8 years-old. The participants (N=171) carried out inhibitory and cognitive flexibility tasks. The results show low relation between perceptual inhibition and cognitive flexibility, and absence of relations with other inhibitory processes. The study contributes evidence in support of the non-unitary approach of inhibition, and allows discuss about relationships between these functions during the development(AU)

Desarrollo de la inhibición perceptual en contextos emocionales y neutrales población infantil / Development of perceptual inhibition in emotional and neutral contexts in children

La inhibición perceptual es el proceso encargado de suprimir la interferencia de distractores externos. A pesar del rol central que juega la inhibición en dominios heterogéneos (como la salud mental, las habilidades académicas, o el desarrollo), la investigación en la temática muestra una comprensión limitada del desarrollo de este proceso, que además ha focalizado su estudio en contextos neutrales. Por ello, el objetivo del estudio fue analizar el desarrollo de la inhibición perceptual en contextos emocionales y neutrales en población infantil. Participaron del estudio 407 niños/as de 8 a 12 años, que fueron evaluados con una tarea informatizada basada en el paradigma de flancos y del distractor enteramente irrelevante. Los resultados mostraron que este proceso se desarrolla de manera progresiva y gradual, sin diferencias en función del contexto o dominio de aplicación. De este modo, permiten extender los resultados hallados principalmente en contextos neutrales, al contexto emocional. Este estudio constituye un aporte a la comprensión del desarrollo de este proceso inhibitorio, en ambos contextos (emocionales y neutrales)

Perceptual inhibition is the process responsible for suppressing the interference generated by external distractors. Despite the fact that inhibition plays a central role in heterogeneous domains (such as mental health, well-being, academic skills, and even development), research shows a limited understanding of the development of this process and has also focused mostly on neutral contexts. For this reason, this work aims to analyze the development of perceptual inhibition in emotional and neutral contexts in children. To this end, 407 children aged 8 to 12 years participated in the study. They were evaluated with a computerized task based on the flanker paradigm and the entirely irrelevant distractor paradigm. The results showed that perceptual inhibition develops gradually, and shows no differences depending on the context or domain. These findings allow the extension of previous results found in neutral contexts to the emotional context. This study constitutes a contribution to the understanding of development of this inhibitory process in both contexts (emotional and neutral)

Relaciones entre empatia y teoría de la mente en niños y adolescentes / Relation between Empathy and Theory of Mind in Children and Adolescents / Relações entre empatia e teoria da mente em crianças e adolescentes

Resumen Objetivo. Caracterizar la teoría de la mente (TM) y la empatía en niños y adolescentes, y analizar si existe una interacción diferencial entre ambos procesos según la etapa del desarrollo. Este objetivo se basa en que el estudio de la cognición social sugiere que la TM asiste a la capacidad empática en la atribución de emociones y de la comprensión del estado emocional ajeno. Método. Estudio correlacional con diseño transversal-correlacional. Se empleó una muestra no probabilística de 168 participantes (61 niños y 107 adolescentes) de ambos sexos. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron el Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) y el Test de las Miradas. Resultados. Se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la subescala preocupación empática (t = -3,53, p = 0.001) y en el Test de las Miradas (t = -2.94, p = 0.004) a favor de los adolescentes; sin embargo, no se hallaron diferencias entre grupos de acuerdo a las escalas cognitivas del IRI (t = 1.07, p = 0.82; t = -0.04, p = 0.96). En cuanto a la relación entre los procesos cognitivos sociales, se encontró una correlación positiva entre la empatía y la TM en los niños (r = 0.24, p = 0.54) y negativa en los adolescentes (r = -0.19, p = 0.49). Conclusión. Existe complementariedad funcional entre la empatía cognitiva y la TM en la infancia, pero no en la adolescencia, etapa en la que dichos procesos parecen comenzar a funcionar con mayor independencia.

Abstract Objective. The study of social cognition provides neuroscientific evidence showing that the theory of mind (ToM) fosters empathy through the attribution of emotions and the understanding of the emotional state of others. This work aims to characterize empathy and ToM in children and adolescents, analyzing whether there is a differential interaction between both processes, according to the stage of development. Method. A correlational study with transversal-correlational design was employed. A non-probabilistic sample of 168 participants (61 children and 107 adolescents) were used in the study. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes's Test were used. Results. According to the stage of development, statistically significant differences were found in the subscale Empathic Concern (t = -3,53, p = 0.001) and in Reading the Mind in the Eye's (t = -2.94, p = 0.004) in favor of adolescents, no differences between groups with respect to the IRI's cognitive scales (t = 1.07, p = 0.82; t = -0.04, p = 0.96) were found. Regarding the relation between social cognitive processes, a positive correlation between empathy and ToM in children (r = 0.24, p = 0.54), and a negative correlation in adolescents (r = -0.19, p = 0.49) was found. Conclusion. The results provide evidence in favor of the functional complementarity of cognitive empathy and ToM in childhood, but not in adolescence, a stage in which these processes seem to begin to function with greater independence.

Resumo Escopo. O estudo da cognição social sugere que a teoria da mente (TM) assiste à capacidade empática na atribuição de emoções e da compreensão do estado emocional alheio. Por isto, o presente trabalho, teve por escopo caracterizar a TM e a empatia em crianças e adolescentes e analisar a possibilidade de uma interação diferencial entre os dois processos segundo a etapa de desenvolvimento. Metodologia. Estudo correlacional com desenho Transversal-correlacional; foi empregada uma amostra não probabilística de 168 participantes (61 crianças e 107 adolescentes) dos dois sexos. Os instrumentos utilizados foram o Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) e o Teste das Olhadas. Resultados. Foram encontrados diferencias estatisticamente significativas na sub-escada preocupação empática (t = -3,53, p = 0.001) e no teste das olhadas (t = -2.94, p = 0.004) a favor dos adolescentes; porém, não foram encontradas diferencias entre grupos de acordo às escadas cognitivas do IRI (t = 1.07, p = 0.82; t = -0.04, p = 0.96). Em quanto à relação entre os processos cognitivos sociais, foi encontrada uma correlação positiva entre empatia e a TM nas crianças (r = 0.24, p = 0.54) e negativas nos adolescentes (r = -0.19, p = 0.49). Conclusão. Existe complementariedade funcional entre a empatia cognitiva e a TM na infância, mas não na adolescência, etapa na que os processos mencionados parecem começar a funcionar com maior independência.

Desempeño en memoria de trabajo e indicadores comportamentales: Relaciones entre medidas directas e indirectas / Relationship between performance in working memory and behavioral indicators observed in class

La memoria de trabajo (MT) es un fuerte predictor del desempeño académico por su impacto en la comprensión lectora, la competencia aritmética y los comportamientos necesarios para el aprendizaje escolar. De modo que saber cómo opera la MT en niños de edad escolar y conocer la percepción que los docentes tienen sobre la MT de sus estudiantes es de gran interés. Por eso, los objetivos del trabajo que se informa fueron evaluar si las observaciones de los docentes sobre las dificultades en la MT de sus alumnos (medidas indirectas) se relacionan con el rendimiento de estos alumnos en pruebas de ejecución de MT (medidas directas) y analizar si estas dificultades percibidas por los docentes se corresponden con la presencia de problemas comportamentales de diversos tipos. Para esto se les administraron a niños de edad escolar pruebas de MT verbal y MT viso-espacial informatizadas, y a sus docentes dos cuestionarios, la Escala Observacional de Memoria de Trabajo -WMRS- y la Guía de Observación Comportamental -GOC-. Los resultados obtenidos muestran asociaciones significativas entre indicadores de fallos en MT y la performance de los niños en la tarea de MT verbal, debidas probablemente a que en los comportamientos explorados en la WMRS el componente verbal está más claramente reflejado (e.g., requiere repeticiones de instrucciones). También se encontró que estos fallos se relacionan con problemas comportamentales reportados por los docentes, como ser dificultades atencionales, hiperactividad y autoagresión. Se considera al estudio realizado como una contribución porque no hay escalas observacionales de MT para uso docente, disponibles en nuestro medio.

Working memory (WM) is a strong predictor of academic performance, due to its impact in reading comprehension, arithmetic's competence and the regulated behaviors required for school learning. Thus, knowing about WM operation in school-aged children and teachers' perception on their students WM is of great value and interest. This is why in the present work we assess whether teachers' reports about their students' WM (indirect measure) is associated with their performance in WM tasks (direct measure), and also to assess whether the difficulties perceived by the teachers correspond to the presence of students' general behavioral issues. For that, we administered computerized verbal WM tasks to school-aged children, in which they had to recall a number of digits (control condition) while saying out loud the color of the items (interference condition), and computerized visual-spatial WM tasks, in which they had to recall the locations of a series of stimuli (control condition) while indicating the color of the stimuli in a color palette (interference condition). We also administered two scales to their teachers: one of them asks about WM specifically (Working Memory Rating Scale) and is composed of 20 short descriptions of behavior problems that allow discriminating between children with poor and average WM skills. The teacher rates how typical a behavior is in each child, in a scale that goes from Not typical at all (0) to Very typical (3). The other asks about diverse behavioral problems (Guide of Behavioral Observation) and is composed of the following subscales: Physical and Verbal Aggression, Negativism, Transgression, Impulsivity, Hyperactivity, Attention Deficit and Acceptance. The teacher must choose the option that best describes the behavior in the child in terms of frequency (Never, Sometimesor Often). Our results show significant associations between children performance in the verbal WM task (direct measure) and WM failures' indicators (indirect measures), which can be explained by the fact that the verbal component is more clearly reflected in the behaviors explored in the Working Memory Rating Scale (e.g., loses his place in complicated activities, requires regular repetition of instructions, depends on neighbor to remind them of the current task). We also wanted to look out if there were associations between the WM skills reported by the teachers and the general behavior problems also reported by them, and we found associations between the reported WM difficulties and attention disorders, hyperactivity and self-aggression. This is consistent with the claim that WM and attention deficit in non clinical population are closely related. With respect to hyperactivity, its relation with WM is not as clear and has not been so frequently reported. With respect to self-aggression, its relation with WM difficulties can be attributed to these children's in ability to exercise control over the environment, which leads to frustration and low levels of motivation and self-esteem. Lastly, we found associations between children's performance in the computerized WM tasks and the presence of behavioral problems informed by the teachers. Specifically, proper performance in verbal WM tasks associates with less attention difficulties, where as proper performance in visual-spatial WM tasks associates with being accepted by the group. This last association could be attributed to the fact that many group games require several abilities that involve visual-spatial WM, such as the ability to orientate in space and recall different locations. To conclude, we consider that this work constitutes a contribution because, in the first place, there are no WM observation scales for teachers' use available in our environment, and, in the second place, it addresses the need for teachers to acknowledge WM difficulties and consequently be trained for the implementation of effective strategies to im prove WM skills in the classroom.

Contribuciones empíricas para la validez de grupos contrastados de la Batería de Tareas de Autorregulación Cognitiva (TAC) / Empirical contributions for contrasting groups validity of the Tareas de Autorregulación Cognitiva (TAC) Battery

Los déficit de las funciones ejecutivas (FE) suelen estar presentes en el Trastorno por Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad (TDAH). Distintos trabajos mostraron algunas falencias vinculadas a la medición de las FE, como la participación de otros procesos que no constituyen objeto de la evaluación. En el trabajo que se informa se analizaron las diferencias existentes en las FE de niños con y sin diagnóstico de TDAH y se buscó identificar y establecer aquellas variables con mayor poder discriminante para la probabilidad de pertenencia a ambos grupos. Se utilizaron las tareas de la batería denominada Tareas de Autorregulación Cognitiva (TAC), diseñadas ad-hoc para evaluar específica y relativamente en forma independiente cada FE. Se trabajó con una muestra de 49 niños escolarizados de 7 a 12 años de edad, de ambos géneros, divididos en dos grupos, uno clínico de 19 niños con diagnóstico de TDAH, con una media de edad igual a 9.84 años (DE = 1.83) y uno control de 30 niños sin diagnóstico de TDAH con una media de edad igual a 10.27 años (DE = .82), equiparados por género, edad, niveles socioeconómico y educacional. Los resultados mostraron que el análisis discriminante permitió clasificar correctamente al 98% de los participantes. Las tareas mejor discriminadas fueron la de Flexibilidad cognitiva y Control inhibitorio comportamental, con un 98.9% y 97.8%, respectivamente, de casos correctos. Esto muestra que la TAC constituye una batería con adecuada sensibilidad y especificidad para discriminar y detectar casos de TDAH con un elevado nivel de confiabilidad y porcentaje de correctos clasificados.

The executive functions (EF) multidimensional approaches state that EFs consist of a set of processes with relative autonomy and independence: working memory (WM), cognitive flexibility (CF), and inhibition. Regarding the inhibitory operation, three dimensions are distinguished, each with distinct operative features: perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral inhibition. Perceptual inhibition is the process that allows the focus on relevant environmental stimuli through the attenuation of the interference generated by other stimuli present in the context. Cognitive inhibition is involved in the decreased level of activation of the prepotent mental representations of intrusive and irrelevant to the achievement of current goals. Finally, behavioral inhibition handles suppress or cancel behaviors and strong, prepotent and un suitable behaviors. While this last type contributes to the inhibitory control of behavior, the other two processes (cognitive and perceptual inhibition) apply to cognition, as involved in regulating the perceptions and representations. Regarding executive operation in general, empirical evidence suggests that these dimensions are involved in such diverse fields as psychopathology, personality, emotion, attentional control and cognitive development. It has been found that deficits in EFs are usually present in the Attention Deficit Hyper activity Disorder (ADHD). The common practice of treating children with ADHD as an undifferentiated group of participants in behavioral and neuropsychological research may have adverse methodological consequences. Relying on group averaging in comparing the performance of ADHD and control groups may produce misleading results, as it conceals possible effects that may characterize some but not all ADHD participants. According to the previous assumptions, the objectives of this work were (1) analyzing the EF performance in children with or without diagnosed ADHD and (2) identifying and setting the variables with greater discriminant power between the normal and clinical groups. Battery tasks called Tareas de Autorregulación Cognitiva (TAC) ad-hoc and designed to assess EFs operation specifically and with relative independence with each other were used. The sample consisted of 49 school-attending children, aged 7-12 years, of both sexes, divided into two groups: (1) a clinical group of 19 children diagnosed with ADHD combined subtype (M age = 9.84 years, SD =1.83), and (2) a control group of 30 children without ADHD diagnosis (M age = 10.27 years, SD = .82), matched by gender, age, socioeconomic and educational level. By analyzing the results, significant differences were found between verbal and visuospatial WM, CF, behavioral and perceptual inhibition indices. Then, a discriminant analysis was made in order to use the index values with significant differences and make predictions about the probability of a subject to be a member of a certain criteria variable value (clinical or control group condition). Results show that discriminant analysis allows to correctly classifying 98% of the participants. The results indicated that the average RT of the mixed block (Cognitive Flexibility) and the Stop Signal RT (Behavioral Inhibition) are the indices with better sensitivity and specificity for detecting the presence of ADHD in this sample. Considering that the area under the curve indicates the probability to classify correctly a couple of healthy and ill individuals randomly selected, then it is possible to conclude that the values of Cognitive Flexibility and Behavioral Inhibitory control tasks had better discriminant power, as they correctly classified 98.9% and 97.8% of the total cases, respectively. This result shows that the TAC Battery presents adequate sensitivity and specificity to discriminate and detect ADHD with a high level of reliability and classification accuracy. Summarizing, we highlight the importance of having an assessment battery such as the totally computerized TAC, which allows the assessment of EFs independently, with an attractive design and straightforward administering and scoring procedures.

Disponibilidad de recursos materiales en el hogar y adquisición de habilidades pre-lectoras / Availability of resources and the acquisiton of pre-reading skills in the family context / Disponibilidade de recursos materiais e aquisição de habilidades pré-leitoras em contexto familiar

El aprendizaje de la lectura implica un conjunto de factores que hacen posible su adquisición. Entre estos, se destacan el contexto alfabetizador familiar, entendido como el conjunto de los recursos del hogar que abarcan experiencias en las cuales el niño se encuentra en contacto con eventos que involucran la lectoescritura y la disponibilidad de materiales impresos; además de las habilidades y conocimientos prelectores definidos como precursores de la lectura formal, que tienen sus orígenes en las experiencias tempranas de la vida de un niño. El objetivo de este trabajo es explorar y describir las relaciones entre el contexto alfabetizador familiar y el rendimiento en habilidades prelectoras. Para ello se seleccionó una muestra de 88 niños de 5 años de edad, de ambos sexos, y a los cuidadores de los mismos niños a quienes se les administró una entrevista semiestructurada y precodificada denominada Evaluación del Contexto Alfabetizador y la versión en español del Get Ready to Read! Screening Tool de Whitehurst & Lonigan. Los resultados permitieron establecer una asociación estadísticamente significativa entre los índices disponibilidad de recursos materiales vinculados a la lectura en el hogar -especialmente el acceso a medios tecnológicos- y el rendimiento en habilidades prelectoras, demostrando la importancia que tienen para la alfabetización las características del medio ambiente en el que se desenvuelve el niño.

Learning to read involves a number of factors. Among these, we focus on the family context related to literacy. We understand this context as a set of resources, including experiences in which the child is in contact with the events surrounding the literacy and the availability of printed materials, as well as skills and knowledge of pre- reading, identified as precursors of formal reading. In this study we aim to explore and describe the relationships between family background and performance in pre-reading skills. We take, as sample, 88 children 5 years old, both sexes, and their parents. We interviewed the family to evaluate the family context and used the the Spanish version of “Get Ready to Read! Screening Tool” by Whitehurst & Lonigan. The results indicate a statistically significant association between rates of resource availability of reading materials at home - particularly access to technological means - and performance in pre-reading skills. This reveals the importance of the characteristics of environment in which the child grows to the development of literacy.

Aprender a ler envolve um conjunto de fatores. Entre estes, destaca-se a leiturabilidade no contexto da família, entendida como um conjunto de recursos domésticos que incluem experiências em que a criança está em contato com os acontecimentos envolvendo a alfabetização e disponibilidade de materiais; habilidades de pré-leitura e habilidades identificadas como precursoras da leitura formal. O objetivo deste trabalho foi explorar as relações entre os antecedentes familiares e o desempenho de alfabetização em habilidades pré-leitura. Participaram 88 crianças de 5 anos de idade e os seus cuidadores. A eles foram administradas uma entrevista de avaliação de contexto da família e a versão espanhola de Get Ready to Read! Screening Tool. Os resultados indicam uma associação com significância estatística entre as taxas de disponibilidade de recursos materiais de leitura em casa e realização de habilidades pré-leitoras, sugerindo a importância das características do lar para alfabetização.

Modificaciones del paradigma de gramáticas artificiales para niños / Modifications of the Artificial Grammars Paradigm for children

El objetivo del presente artículo es describir y analizar las modificaciones al paradigma de Gramáticas artificiales de Reber, que permiten su aplicación en niños a partir de la inclusión de juegos interactivos en soporte informático en dos formatos de presentación: alfabético y figurativo. Se trabajó con una muestra de 50 niños, divididos en dos grupos (tercero y quintoaño) de enseñanza general básica de una escuela estatal de Mar del Plata, Argentina. Las puntuaciones obtenidas en ambas pruebas de aprendizaje implícito mostraron ser significativascon respecto a lo esperado por azar. Las diferencias de las medias (para muestras relacionadas) de los resultados de ambas pruebas no fueron significativas. Las modificaciones sugeridas implican un aporte para evaluar el Aprendizaje Implícito en niños con elementos estimularesy procedimentales basados en la retroalimentación que facilitan la adecuación de los niños ala lógica interna de las pruebas.

The aim of the present article is to describe and analyze some modifications to the ArtificialGrammars Learning Paradigm that makes it adaptable to children by using interactive computer games presented in two formats: Alphabetical and Figurative. We worked with a sample of 50 children of third and fifth year of Basic General Education (EGB) from a Provincial School of Mar del Plata, Argentina. The punctuations obtained in both tests of Implicit Learning weresignificant with regard to what was expected by chance. The means comparison (pair-samples) shows that the differences between both tests were not significant. The suggested modifications imply a contribution to the evaluation of Implicit Learning in children with new procedural andvisual elements, based on the feedback.

Asociaciones entre rendimiento en comprensión de textos y estrategias pedagógicas utilizadas por docentes / Associations between achievement in reading understanding and pedagogical strategies used by teachers

El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido explorar las asociaciones entre el rendimiento en comprensión lectora y distintas estrategias docentes utilizadas con alumnos de segundo y tercer grado de Educación Primaria Básica (EPB) de la Ciudad de Mar del Plata (Argentina). El supuesto de este estudio afirma que existe una asociación entre el rendimiento en comprensión lectora y las estrategias pedagógicas docentes. Se aplicó una adaptación del PROLEC para evaluar el rendimiento en lectura y un cuestionario construido para explorar las estrategias docentes. Los instrumentos fueron administrados a una muestra aleatoria de alumnos de 2º y 3º año de 10 escuelas municipales (n=258) y a sus respectivos docentes (n=64). Los resultados permitieron aportar evidencia empírica sobre la ausencia de asociaciones estadísticamente significativas entre ambas variables, lo que permite suponer que la lectoescritura es un fenómeno complejo que depende de numerosos factores como las diferencias cognitivas individuales, el contexto alfabetizador, etc.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi explorar as associações entre o rendimento em compreensão de leitura e diferentes estratégias docentes utilizadas em alunos da segunda e terceira série do ensino fundamental da cidade de Mar del Plata (Argentina). O pressuposto deste estudo afirma que existe uma associação entre o rendimento em compreensão de leitura e as estratégias pedagógicas docentes. Foi aplicado uma adaptação do PROLEC para avaliar o rendimento em leitura e um questionário elaborado para explorar as estratégias docentes. Os instrumentos foram aplicados em uma amostra aleatória de alunos da 2ª e 3ª série de 10 escolas municipais (n=258) e nos seus respectivos docentes (n=64). Os resultados permitiram contribuir com evidência empírica a respeito da ausência de associações estadisticamente significativas entre ambas as variáveis, o que permite supor que a leitura-escrita é um fenômeno complexo que depende de vários fatores, como ser as diferenças cognitivas individuais, o contexto de alfabetização, etc.

The aim of this work has been to explore the relationships between reading comprehension achievement and strategies used by teachers in second and third class of public schools of Mar del Plata City. The assumption of this study affirms that exist an association between reading comprehension achievement and strategies used by teachers. It was applied an adaptation of PROLEC to evaluate reading comprehension achievement and a questionnaire to explore the educational strategies. The instruments were administered to a random sample of students of 2º and 3º year of 10 public schools (n=258) and their respective teachers (n=64). The outcomes allows contribute empirical evidence of the absence of statistically significant associations between both variables which allows to suppose that reading comprehension is a complex phenomenon that depends on numerous factors like individual cognitives differences and familiar support.