Asymmetries of selective listening and attention switching in children.

Administered a selective listening task to 155 normal right-handed 3–12 yr old children. The stimuli consisted of dichotic digits, ranging from single pairs to strings of 4 pairs/trial. Each S attempted to focus attention on 1 ear for 8 practice trials and 28 test trials before switching attention to the opposite ear. Separate analyses of correct responses and intrusion errors yielded almost identical results: There was a significant right-ear advantage (REA) and a developmental increase in overall performance, but there was no developmental change in degree of asymmetry. The REA increased with increasing list length, but independent analyses for each list length failed to reveal any developmental changes in REA. Listening asymmetry was influenced markedly by the order in which the ears were monitored; Ss of all ages had difficulty in switching attention from right ear to left. Results support the developmental invariance hypothesis of cerebral lateralization and demonstrate that auditory asymmetry is not merely a direct reflection of some fixed structural asymmetry in the brain. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hemispheric specialization and ear advantages in processing speech.

Reviews research on the hemispheric asymmetry model of relative ear advantages in the processing of auditory stimuli. Physiological studies of activation of the hemispheres in humans support left-hemisphere speech-processing specialization and contralateral sound field dominance. Electrophysiological studies in animals, effects of commissurotomy, hemispherectomy, and unilateral temporal lobe lesions on dichotic performance in humans, as well as stimulus dominance effects in intact Ss indicate that the assumption of ipsilateral sensory pathway suppression during competitive stimulation is unwarranted. Dichotic presentation is not necessary to produce a right-ear advantage (REA), and selective attention to one or the other ear frequently tends to alter the magnitude of the REA. A modified structural model that incorporates the effects of directed attention is proposed. (3? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age- and sex-related differences in left- and right-hemisphere processing by learning disabled children.

Age and sex differences in left- and right-hemisphere processing were assessed with 2 dichotic listening tasks in a sample of 48 control and 48 learning-disabled (LD) children ranging in age from 6 yrs 9 mo to 12 yrs 4 mo. Children were presented with consonant–vowel syllables (CVs) and simple square-wave and complex square-wave tones. Neither age nor sex differences in response accuracy or lateralized processing of CV stimuli were evident for control children. Borderline significance was obtained for tonal stimuli. In contrast, CV stimuli elicited a bilateral response in younger LD children, and tonal stimuli elicited a bilateral response in all LD children. Furthermore, control children were oppositely lateralized for verbal and nonverbal stimuli, whereas LD Ss exhibited a general processing bias to the same hemisphere. These data support the theory that LD children may lack the necessary functional specialization required for lateralized processing of such stimuli. In addition, these data do not fully support the developmental invariance hypothesis and may even suggest a putative right-hemisphere or bilateral processing deficiency in LD children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comprehension-monitoring skills in learning-disabled children.

Compared comprehension-monitoring skills of learning disabled (LD) and normal elementary school children. Comprehension monitoring, the ability to evaluate one's level of understanding incoming messages, was assessed in the context of a game-learning task. Ss were 12 younger LD boys (7–8 yrs old), 12 older LD boys (9–10 yrs old), and 12 younger and 10 older normal boys matched on age and IQ. No age effects were observed. The major finding was that relative to the matched normal Ss, LD Ss were deficient in comprehension-monitoring skills. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in perceptual asymmetries with clinical improvement of depression and schizophrenia.

16 depressed patients, 16 schizophrenic patients, and 16 normal controls (20–50 yrs old) were given 2 dichotic listening tests and 2 cognitive tests at intervals ranging from patients' initial hospitalization to recovery. Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that severely depressed Ss failed to obtain normal ear-superiority in either dichotic test; however, normal superiorities emerged with recovery from depression. Schizophrenic Ss initially failed to show normal right-ear superiority on a dichotic-words test but did obtain the expected left-ear advantage on a dichotic-chords test. Following treatment, schizophrenics shifted from a left-ear to a right-ear advantage in dichotic chords and also increased (although not significantly) their right-ear advantage in dichotic words. Both patient groups showed normal word-fluency but impaired spatial ability, which did not improve with recovery. Results suggest that both depression and schizophrenia are associated with a breakdown in the process of interhemispheric inhibition that mediates perceptual asymmetry. In depression, treatment returned Ss' normal patterns of asymmetry, whereas in schizophrenia, treatment created an abnormal pattern of asymmetry that may have reflected the allocation of both verbal and nonverbal material to the left hemisphere. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of selective listening and hemispheric asymmetry.

In 2 experiments binaural and dichotic tasks of varying complexity were given to 64 7- and 9-yr-old children to investigate the interaction of laterality and selective attention. One of each digit pair was spoken by a male and the other by a female. Ss recalled 3 of the digits spoken in a specified voice. With the attended voice in one ear, performance improved relative to the binaural condition in both age groups. However, when location and voice cues were uncorrelated, the younger Ss' performance was more adversely affected. The right ear advantage (REA) increased as a function of task difficulty. With slow presentation rates, the REA remained constant with age but decreased with age in the faster conditions, which was opposite to the predicted increase in cerebral asymmetry of language function with age. The 7-yr-olds responded according to their perceptual asymmetry, recalling right-ear items whether the attended voice was in the left or right ear. The developmental changes in selective attention are explained by a capacity model. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grammatical awareness in the spoken and written language of language-disabled children.

Two experiments examined judgment, revision, and error-identification deficits in relation to expressive language skills and morphemic errors in writing. 12 language-disabled (LND) children (aged 8 yrs 2 mo to 12 yrs 4 mo) and 11 controls (aged 6 yrs 3 mo to 6 yrs 11 mo) matched for language ability participated in Exp 1. 11 LND children (aged 9 yrs 1 mo to 12 yrs 2 mo), 11 age-matched children with no language disability, and 11 children (aged 6 yrs 2 mo to 8 yrs 0 mo) matched to LND Ss for language ability participated in Exp 2. LND Ss who did not lack expressive use of target morphemes also did not differ from language-matched Ss in their ability to (1) judge the grammaticality of spoken sentences, (2) revise them, and (3) identify errors. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalization from categorical memory tasks to prose by learning disabled adolescents.

Investigated how 60 learning disabled ([LD] aged 12 yrs to 14 yrs 5 mo) and 20 age-matched nondisabled (NLD) Ss would transfer the use of 4 study rules from instructed materials (pictures) to a prose recall task. Four phases spread over a 3-wk period were involved: pretest, informational phase (2 lessons), individualized training (3 lessons), and posttest. Results show that LDs performed poorly relative to NLD peers at pretest on categorical picture and prose recall tasks. 20 LD Ss who received rule-only instruction and 20 LD Ss who received rule-plus-prose examples instruction surpassed 20 LD Ss in the control condition at posttest on the picture task in rule use and in recall. On the prose task, a majority of the instructed LD Ss demonstrated transfer of the instructed rules. As a group, the instructed LD Ss no longer differed observably from NLD Ss in recall or in the strategies they employed to study and to retrieve. The clinical view that LD Ss are characterized by a failure to generalize was not supported by these findings. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of three play conditions on separation anxiety in young children.

Evaluated the effects of separation-relevant play on separation anxiety in young children to test the hypothesis that play can reduce anxiety. Ss were 32 males and 32 females, aged 2–6 yrs, rated by their teachers as anxious about separation from parents. Ss were assigned to 1 of 3 thematic-play conditions (free play, directed play, and modeling) and a 4th nonthematic-play (control) condition, so that pretreatment anxiety levels were approximately equivalent across conditions. All 3 experimental conditions were associated with lower posttest anxiety scores on a speech-disturbance measure but not on teacher ratings. Higher quality of play (mastery) was associated with lower posttest anxiety scores. Implications are discussed for play therapy, separation-anxiety treatments, and the use of speech disturbance as a measure of anxiety in young children. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A canonical correlation analysis of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability in a sample referred for suspected learning disabilities.

Examined the degree of overlap between the WISC—R and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) from the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery in 152 Ss (aged 7 yrs 4 mo to 12 yrs 10 mo) referred for evaluation because of suspected learning disabilities (LD). Analysis yielded 3 significant canonical correlations. The redundancy index showed that approximately 28.6% of the WJTCA subtest variance was predictable from the linear combination of the WISC—R subtests, and approximately 32.7% of the WISC—R subtest variance was predictable from the WJTCA subtests. Analysis of the structure correlations showed that the 1st canonical variates shared a general intelligence factor, the 2nd a perceptual speed factor, and the 3rd a numerical-memory factor. It is suggested that, if these findings are substantiated with a larger sample, the mean-score discrepancy previously found between the WJTCA and the WISC—R for children suspected of having LD is attributable to unique factor structures. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal control of behavior: The effects of shouting.

Tested the implication of A. R. Luria's (1961, 1969) theory that children under 5 yrs of age would have more difficulty obeying instructions to inhibit a response the greater the intensity (loudness) of the instruction; this should not be true for children over 5 yrs of age. In the present study, 18 younger children (aged 3 yrs 6 mo to 4 yrs 9 mo) and 18 older children (aged 4 yrs 10 mo to 6 yrs 4 mo) played a game in which they were to follow instructions and either perform or refrain from performing simple acts. Instructions were loud, medium, or soft in intensity. Results for younger Ss were clear and significant in supporting Luria's theory. For older Ss, however, results do not neatly fit Luria's theory: Increased intensity facilitated compliance with instructions to inhibit a response. Data support the contention that an important aspect of language development is the decontextualization of meaning. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lateral preference patterns as a discriminator of learning difficulties.

In Study 1, the lateral preference patterns for 246 normal and 108 learning-disabled (LD) children (8.3–12.7 yrs) were compared using factors of the Dean Laterality Preference Schedule. Results indicate that although Ss did not differ in their patterns for peripheral activities across factors, LD Ss were significantly more bilateral on factors involving visually guided fine motor activity, listening, and fine motor foot preference. Further analysis showed that one significant discriminant function correctly predicted the group placement of some 71% of the Ss. Findings are interpreted as supporting a hypothesis of less coherent lateralized cerebral systems for many LD children. Study 2 examined the verbal—spatial abilities of 78 LD 5th graders classified as normal or mixed in their preference patterns using the discriminant function derived in Study 1. Results indicate that whereas Ss of mixed dominance for peripheral activities were deficient in spatial abilities, they were verbally more adept than normally lateralized LD Ss. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hyperactive and hypoxic children: Signal detection, sustained attention, and behavior.

Two parameters from signal detection theory—perceptual sensitivity and decision criterion cutoff scores—were used in the analysis of vigilance performance of 30 hyperactive (mean age 8.5 yrs), 30 hypoxic (mean age 9 yrs), and 47 normal (mean age 8.8 yrs) children. Signal detection analyses of 3 Continuous Performance Test conditions indicated that with increasing age, Ss obtained significantly more hits, fewer false alarms, higher perceptual sensitivity, and responded with greater caution. Overall deficits in signal discrimination (perceptual sensitivity level) were obtained for both the hyperactive and hypoxic Ss when compared to normal age-mates. Whereas the hypoxic Ss demonstrated additional decrements in sustaining attention (sensitivity decrement over time), the hyperactive Ss were impaired by low-response caution, reflecting difficulty inhibiting impulsive responses. Possible differences in hyperactive sample characteristics across studies and time-related recovery factors following hypoxia are discussed. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recognition memory development in two- to four-year-olds.

Tested 32 preschool children on 2 36-item recognition lists. 8 boys and 8 girls were in each of 2 age groups; mean ages of the 2 groups were 4 yrs and 2 yrs 11 mo. No sex differences were observed. The younger Ss responded correctly 81% of the time, and the older Ss 92% of the time. A signal detection analysis revealed that this developmental difference was due to retention components, not decision components. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Global attentional deviance as a marker of risk for schizophrenia: Specificity and predictive validity.

Evaluated global attentional deficits as possible childhood markers of schizophrenia. Performance deviance was assessed across a continuous performance test, an attention span task, and the Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). 63 children of schizophrenic parents, 43 children of parents with affective disorders, and 100 children of normal parents were tested when the children were 7–12 yrs old. A subgroup of Ss at risk for schizophrenia displayed extreme global deviance across attentional measures. Only a small number of Ss at risk for affective disorders and normal comparison Ss showed similar extreme attentional deficits. The global attentional deficits measured at these early ages were related to behavioral disturbances (behavior was assessed in 3–6 mo intervals since 1971) in young adulthood for Ss at risk for schizophrenia, but not for Ss in the affective risk group or in the normal comparison group. It is concluded that global attentional deficits have considerable specificity for predicting behavioral problems thought to be precursors of schizophrenia or schizophrenia-related disorders. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions of learning disabled children.

Two studies compared learning disabled (LD) and normally achieving (NA) children's attribution patterns of success and failure in achievement and in social situations. In Study 1, 37 LD and 67 NA 7th and 8th graders were interviewed about attributions for hypothetical success–failure situations. 75 LD and 30 NA Ss (aged 9–17 yrs) from private schools were interviewed about attributions for real-life ratings of success in Study 2. NA Ss in both studies followed the expected pattern of attributing success more internally and failure (or less success) more externally. LD Ss attributed success to internal factors as well, but in both studies they also externalized success more than did the NA Ss. In their attributions for failure (or less success), the LD Ss in both studies did not follow the expected pattern. It is concluded that attributional differences between the LD Ss may reflect differences in self-esteem, expectations, and uncertainty. Careful reconsideration of the potentially negative consequences of attributional retraining of children with learning problems is recommended. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative analysis of attentional deficits in hyperactive and learning-disabled children.

Compared 14 boys (aged 7–9 yrs) with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH), 12 with learning disability (LD), 12 with ADDH-LD, and 13 normal boys on measures of sustained attention, selective attention, and span of apprehension. Unique patterns of attentional deficits were associated with each of the diagnostic groups. The ADDH Ss with and without learning disabilities exhibited sustained attention deficits. The LD Ss evidenced selective attention deficits on a speeded classification task. The LD and ADDH-LD Ss evidenced recall difficulties on a paired-associate task, regardless of distractor presence. The 3 clinical groups performed more poorly than did the normal group on the span of apprehension measure. Although attentional deficits were most pervasive in the ADDH-LD group, multivariate composites of attentional variables were sensitive to the ADDH and LD dimensions. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Left-ear superiority in children for processing auditory emotional material.

Investigated hemispheric asymmetries in children for processing auditory material varying in emotional intonation or verbal content. 31 kindergartners, 32 4th graders, and 32 8th graders reported on the emotional content and on the verbal content of dichotically presented sentences. Ss listened to tapes of 4 phrases spoken in tones that were happy, sad, angry, or neutral and to sentences that varied in verbal content only. Ss also completed a handedness questionnaire and a hearing test. All age groups showed a left-ear advantage for reporting on the emotional material and a right-ear advantage for reporting on the verbal material. For the emotional task, the degree of ear asymmetry did not vary significantly as a function of emotional category. Findings indicate the the right hemisphere is specialized for mediating auditory emotional stimuli as early as 5 yrs of age. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of imitation in nonimitative, severely retarded children: Contribution of reinforcement and instruction.

Determined the relative contribution of instruction and reinforcement to the development of simple motoric imitation in 12 nonimitative, severely retarded children (CAs 9 yrs 5 mo to 20 yrs 2 mo). Reinforcement was varied across 3 conditions (contingent reinforcement, noncontingent reinforcement, and no reinforcement), and instructions were varied across 2 conditions (presence and absence). Two Ss were assigned to each of the conditions, and an ABAB experimental design was employed. Results indicate that the most effective procedures were those that contingently reinforced Ss for each correct imitation with or without instructions to imitate. Ss who received various combinations of noncontingent reinforcement and/or instructions did not show any consistent increase in their imitative behavior. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics of speech motor development in children.

Pulsed ultrasound was used to study tongue movements in the speech of 11 children, aged 3 yrs 3 mo to 11 yrs 6 mo. The stimuli were CV syllables that were produced at a normal speech rate with alternate vowels stressed. In Ss over 6 yrs of age, the pattern of tongue dorsum movement was identical to that observed in adults. For all Ss, the maximum velocity of tongue dorsum raising and lowering was correlated with the extent of the gesture. The slope of the relationship differed for stressed and unstressed vowels, although the differences were not consistent prior to age 6 yrs. For all Ss, the correlation between displacement and peak velocity was accompanied by a relatively constant interval from the initiation of the movement to the point of maximum velocity. The similarity in the tongue dorsum kinematics of children and adults is consistent with the idea that speech motor development involves a refinement of basic modes of motor operation rather than any significant change in the control of the speech apparatus. The speech data obtained are characteristic of systems that can be described by 2nd-order differential equations. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)