Sustained attention in schoolchildren with type-1 diabetes. A quantitative EEG study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Type-1 diabetes (T1D) is a metabolic disorder impacting brain structure and function.
• Sustained attention is a cognitive domain affected by T1D.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze sustained attention in children with T1D.
• To compare cognitive performance and brain activity in T1D children versus healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• A Go-NoGo task with visual stimuli was used to assess attention.
• Electrophysiological recordings (EEG) were performed simultaneously with behavioral tasks.
• Seventeen children with T1D and a matched group of healthy controls participated.

Main Results:

• Behavioral performance was similar between T1D children and controls.
• T1D children exhibited increased theta and alpha spectral power in prefrontal and frontoparietal regions.
• Distinct theta lateralization patterns were observed, with correlations between frontal delta/theta power and HbA1c levels.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest early deleterious effects of T1D on neurodevelopment, particularly on attention allocation.
• Altered brain activity in T1D reflects impacts on the neurofunctional substrates of attention.
• Further research into neural-specific targets affected by T1D is warranted.