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Sustained attention in children with two etiologies of early hydrocephalus
Maegan D Swartwout1, Paul T Cirino, Amy W Hampson
1Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-5355, USA. mdswartwout@uh.edu
Insights
Children with spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) show slower reaction times and more errors in sustained attention tasks. These attention deficits are linked to SBM
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Children with spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) and hydrocephalus often exhibit attention problems, particularly in stimulus orienting.
- Less is understood about response control and inhibition in these children, which involve anterior brain attention systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate sustained attention, a key anterior attention function, in children with SBM.
- To examine the relationship between cognitive attention, parent-reported attention symptoms, and medical variables in SBM.
- To differentiate the attention profiles of SBM, aqueductal stenosis (AS), and typically developing controls (NC).
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Gordon Vigilance Task to assess error rate, reaction time, and performance over time.
- Included 101 children with SBM, 17 with AS, and 40 NC participants.
- Correlated task performance with parent ratings of inattention and hyperactivity and explored medical variables.
Main Results:
- Children with SBM did not differ from AS or NC groups in sustained attention measures.
- However, children with SBM committed more errors and responded more slowly.
- Approximately one-third of the SBM group displayed attention symptoms, but these were not associated with task performance.
Conclusions:
- Hydrocephalus alone does not explain the attention profile observed in children with SBM.
- The attention difficulties in SBM appear related to the condition's unique brain dysmorphologies rather than solely hydrocephalus.
- SBM is associated with specific deficits in sustained attention, including slower responses and increased errors.
Abstract:
Several studies have shown that children with spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) and hydrocephalus have attention problems on parent ratings and difficulties in stimulus orienting associated with a posterior brain attention system. Less is known about response control and inhibition associated with an anterior brain attention system. Using the Gordon Vigilance Task (Gordon, 1983), we studied error rate, reaction time, and performance over time for sustained attention, a key anterior attention function, in 101 children with SBM, 17 with aqueductal stenosis (AS; another condition involving congenital hydrocephalus), and 40 typically developing controls (NC). In SBM, we investigated the relation between cognitive attention and parent ratings of inattention and hyperactivity and explored the impact of medical variables. Children with SBM did not differ from AS or NC groups on measures of sustained attention, but they committed more errors and responded more slowly. Approximately one-third of the SBM group had attention symptoms, although parent attention ratings were not associated with task performance. Hydrocephalus does not account for the attention profile of children with SBM, which also reflects the distinctive brain dysmorphologies associated with this condition.
