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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol
Published on: February 18, 2012
The Impact of Motivation on Sustained Attention in Very Preterm and Term-born Children: An ERP Study
Jenny Retzler1,2, Madeleine J Groom3, Samantha Johnson4
1School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, UK.
Insights
Motivational features enhance sustained attention in children. Even those born very preterm showed improved performance on engaging tasks, suggesting intrinsic motivation benefits attention in all children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Children born very preterm often exhibit challenges with sustained attention.
- Disruptions in brain networks supporting attention are noted in preterm-born individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the impact of motivational elements on sustained attention.
- To assess differences between children born very preterm and term-born children.
Main Methods:
- Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record brain activity.
- Participants (very preterm and term-born children) completed standard and motivating versions of the Cued Continuous Performance Task (CPT-AX).
Main Results:
- The motivating task led to higher accuracy, faster responses, and larger event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes.
- While overall performance was similar, term-born children showed greater ERP differences related to attention between task variants.
Conclusions:
- Increased intrinsic motivation can enhance sustained attention in both very preterm and term-born children.
- Findings support evidence of attention network differences in preterm-born children.
Objective:
To compare the effect of motivational features on sustained attention in children born very preterm and at term.
Method:
EEG was recorded while 34 8-to-11-year-old children born very preterm and 34 term-born peers completed two variants of a cued continuous performance task (CPT-AX); a standard CPT-AX with basic shape stimuli, and structurally similar motivating variant, with a storyline, familiar characters, and feedback.
Results:
Higher hit rates, quicker response times and larger event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes were observed during the motivating, compared with the standard, task. Although groups did not differ in task performance, between-task differences in ERPs associated with orienting were larger in term-born than very preterm children.
Conclusion:
The findings add to previous evidence of disruption to the brain networks that support salience detection and selective attention in children born preterm. Manipulations that increase intrinsic motivation can promote sustained attention in both term-born and very preterm children.
