[Neuropsychological characteristics of selective attention in children with nonverbal learning disabilities]

To investigate the neuropsychological characteristics of selective attention such as attention control, working memory and attention persistence of frontal lobe in children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD).

With Auditory Detection Test (ADT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and C-WISC, 14 children with NLD and 23 controls were tested and the results of sub-tests of C-WISC were analyzed with factor analysis. ADT was mainly applied to test the ability of auditory discernment and the function of dominance lateralization in the cerebra; WCST was employed to test the function of working memory which was based on the frontal lobe, and, C-WISC, to test the intelligent structure and characteristics.

Compared with control group, the correct response rate of ADT in NLD group was much lower (P < 0.01), and the number of incorrect response was much larger (P < 0.01). Children with NLD had deficits of auditory selective attention. Moreover, the number of categories achieved (CA) and perseverative error (PE) of WCST were much lower (P < 0.05), which indicated that children with NLD had the disorders of selective attention and performance function. Factor analysis showed that perceptual organization (PO) related to visual space and freedom from distractibility (FD) related to attention persistence in NLD group were obviously lower than those in control group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). These findings further supported the above-mentioned results.

Children with NLD had attention control disorder and working memory disorder mainly in frontal lobe; we suppose that the disorder in right frontal lobe was distinctive.