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Developmental change in auditory selective attention as reflected by phasic heart rate changes
M W van der Molen1, R J Somsen, J R Jennings
1Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. op_molen@macmail.psy.uva.nl
Insights
Children aged 7 and older can ignore irrelevant sounds, indicating mature selective attention. However, the ability to maintain focus develops further into adolescence.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Auditory processing
Background:
- Selective attention is crucial for cognitive development.
- Understanding how children process auditory information is key to cognitive research.
- Previous studies suggest varying developmental trajectories for attentional skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the development of auditory selective attention in children.
- To examine heart rate responses as an indicator of attentional processing.
- To determine the age at which the ability to ignore irrelevant auditory stimuli matures.
Main Methods:
- Heart rate was monitored in children aged 7, 10, 12, 14, and 20 years.
- Participants performed an auditory selective attention task involving attended and unattended ears.
- Responses to rare and standard tone pips were analyzed.
Main Results:
- A distinct pattern of heart rate deceleration-acceleration occurred for attended rare tones.
- No differential heart rate response was observed for unattended rare tones across all age groups.
- Anticipatory heart rate deceleration depth increased up to age 14.
Conclusions:
- The capacity to inhibit irrelevant auditory stimuli matures by middle childhood.
- Attentional set maintenance continues to develop through adolescence.
- Heart rate responses provide a sensitive measure of auditory selective attention development.
Abstract:
Heart rate was recorded from five different groups of children (ages 7, 10, 12, 14, and 20 years) while they were performing an auditory selective attention task. The participants were instructed to count rare tone pips embedded in a series of standard tone pips presented at one (attended) ear while ignoring rare and standard stimuli presented at the other (unattended) ear. A pattern of anticipatory heart rate deceleration followed by acceleration was associated with rare tone pips at the attended ear but not with rare tone pips that should be ignored. The absence of differential sensitivity of heart rate responses to rare tone pips presented at the unattended ear was observed for all age groups. These findings were interpreted to suggest that the ability to ignore irrelevant target stimuli has reached mature levels during middle childhood. The depth of anticipatory deceleration increased until age 14, suggesting that the ability to maintain attentional set continues to develop beyond childhood.