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Altered Neurophysiological Processing of Auditory Attention in Preschool Children With Sickle Cell Disease
Michelle Downes1,2, Fenella J Kirkham2, Paul T Telfer3
1School of Psychology, University College Dublin.
Insights
Young children with sickle cell disease (SCD) show deficits in early attention modulation. This impacts their ability to focus, potentially affecting cognitive development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
- Genetics
Background:
- Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic blood disorder linked to stroke and executive dysfunction.
- Executive functions, including selective attention, are crucial for cognitive development in children.
- Early identification of attention deficits in preschool children with SCD is important for intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural underpinnings of selective attention in preschool children with SCD.
- To characterize the developmental trajectory of attention-related brain activity in young children with SCD.
Main Methods:
- Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to measure brain responses to attended and unattended auditory stimuli.
- The study included 12 preschool children with SCD and 22 typically developing controls.
- Participants listened to alternating stories in each ear, requiring selective attention.
Main Results:
- Typically developing children showed enhanced brain responses to attended stimuli by 100 ms.
- Children with SCD did not exhibit this attention-related modulation of brain activity.
- Lower performance intellectual quotient was correlated with reduced attention effects in children with SCD.
Conclusions:
- Preschool children with SCD exhibit deficits in early attention processing.
- These findings suggest impaired neural mechanisms for selective attention in young children with SCD.
- Early attention deficits may contribute to broader executive dysfunction observed in SCD.
Objective:
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic red blood cell disorder that often leads to stroke and executive dysfunction in school-age children and adults. This study aimed to characterize the development of the neural correlates of selective attention, an early component of executive function, in preschool children with SCD.
Methods:
Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while children attended to a story stream in one ear and ignored a second story in the other ear interchangeably. In total, 12 patients (mean age = 5.5, 7 males) and 22 typically developing children (mean age = 4.4, 10 males) were included in the final analyses.
Results:
By 100 ms, more positive ERP amplitudes were observed for attended relative to unattended stimuli in typically developing children but not those with SCD, suggesting deficits in the ability to focus attention. Reduced attention effects were associated with lower performance intellectual quotient.
Conclusion:
There are deficits in early attention modulation in young children with SCD.
