ABSTRACT
A sex-balanced sample (N = 96) of children from age 6.5 to age 12.5 completed a modified Attention Network Test. Across these ages, we found evidence for developmental changes to alerting and executive control but stable orienting. Additionally, we found that the youngest members of our sample manifested an interaction between alerting and executive control that is opposite to that typically found in adults; a reversal that diminishes with age to achieve the adult pattern by the older end of the age range of our sample.
Subject(s)
Attention , Awareness/physiology , Child Development , Executive Function/physiology , Orientation/physiology , Child , Cues , Female , Humans , Male , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the alerting, orienting, and executive attention abilities of children with ADHD and their typically developing (TD) peers using a modified version of the adult attention network test (ANT-I). METHOD: A total of 25 children with ADHD, Combined Type (ADHD-C, mean age = 9.20 years), 20 children with ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Type (ADHD-I, mean age = 9.58 years), and 45 TD children (mean age = 9.41 years) matched on age and intelligence to the ADHD group completed the ANT-I. RESULTS: As hypothesized, children with ADHD (n = 45) displayed significantly weaker alerting and executive attention than TD children (n = 45) but did not differ from TD children in orienting ability. Children with ADHD-C (n = 25) did not differ from children with ADHD-I (n = 20) on any of the three networks. CONCLUSIONS: Results supported the growing body of evidence that has found alerting and executive attention deficits in children with ADHD.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Attention/physiology , Executive Function/physiology , Orientation/physiology , Child , Female , Humans , Intelligence/physiology , Male , Neuropsychological Tests , Reaction Time/physiologyABSTRACT
The present review systematically summarizes the existing research that has examined two reaction-time-based interference control paradigms, known as the Eriksen Flanker task and the Simon task, in children with and without ADHD. Twelve studies are included, yielding a combined sample size of 272 children with ADHD (M age 9.28 yrs) and 280 typically developing children (M age 9.38 yrs). As predicted, specific disadvantages were found in the ADHD group in terms of reaction time, percentage of errors, and efficiency of performance on incongruent relative to congruent trials, providing evidence for weaker interference control in this group.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Attention , Neuropsychological Tests , Reaction Time , Child , Humans , Psychomotor PerformanceABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To summarize the literature that has employed visual search tasks to assess automatic and effortful selective visual attention in children with and without ADHD. METHOD: Seven studies with a combined sample of 180 children with ADHD (M age = 10.9) and 193 normally developing children (M age = 10.8) are located. RESULTS: Using a qualitative approach, the authors find no group difference in automatic search, but results are variable for effortful serial search. Using a novel, graphical approach, the authors find that the ADHD group demonstrated less efficient serial search. This overall effect is explored as a function of search display complexity. Children with ADHD search less efficiently at the lowest and highest levels of display complexity. CONCLUSION: Children with ADHD show impairments in aspects of their effortful visual selective attention, as measured by visual search.
