AULA virtual reality test as an attention measure: Convergent validity with Conners’ Continuous Performance Test

Abstract

The majority of neuropsychological tests used to evaluate attention processes in children lack ecological validity. The AULA Nesplora (AULA) is a continuous performance test, developed in a virtual setting, very similar to a school classroom. The aim of the present study is to analyze the convergent validity between the AULA and the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) of Conners. The AULA and CPT were administered correlatively to 57 children, aged 6-16 years (26.3% female) with average cognitive ability (IQ mean = 100.56, SD = 10.38) who had a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. Spearman correlations analyses were conducted among the different variables. Significant correlations were observed between both tests in all the analyzed variables (omissions, commissions, reaction time, and variability of reaction time), including for those measures of the AULA based on different sensorial modalities, presentation of distractors, and task paradigms. Hence, convergent validity between both tests was confirmed. Moreover, the AULA showed differences by gender and correlation to Perceptual Reasoning and Working Memory indexes of the WISC-IV, supporting the relevance of IQ measures in the understanding of cognitive performance in ADHD. In addition, the AULA (but not Conners' CPT) was able to differentiate between ADHD children with and without pharmacological treatment for a wide range of measures related to inattention, impulsivity, processing speed, motor activity, and quality of attention focus. Additional measures and advantages of the AULA versus Conners' CPT are discussed.

Auditory and Visual Attention Performance in Children With ADHD: The Attentional Deficiency of ADHD Is Modality Specific

“…We further propose that the consistent inconsistency also appeared on tasks measuring reaction time of auditory attention. This result support the finding of a recent study (Díaz-Orueta et al, 2014), which adopt the CPT developing in a virtual setting to explore similar topic, stated the importance of reaction time variability, a measure of consistency of attention, in both auditory and visual attention of children with ADHD.…”

The Influence of Methylphenidate on Hyperactivity and Attention Deficits in Children With ADHD: A Virtual Classroom Test

“…Another virtual classroom test is the AULA (Spanish for "Classroom") test (Iriarte et al, 2016) that comprises visual and auditory No-X and X tasks (with and without distracters) and two measures of motor activity. Díaz-Orueta et al (2014) could show that the AULA test is suited to differentiate between medicated and unmedicated children in various measures related to the ADHD symptom clusters. Accordingly, these studies suggest that the VRC-CPT and the AULA test are apt tools to assess all symptom clusters in ADHD children.…”

Does the redundancy effect exist in electronic slideshow assisted lecturing?

“…These studies indicated that virtual classrooms could bring higher ecological validity of the results than other assessment instruments (Díaz-Orueta et al, 2014). Based on the empirical studies with virtual classrooms, it is believed that examining the redundancy effect in electronic slideshow assisted lecturing with the use of the virtual classroom as an empirical study platform could bring the results that are similar to those found in the normal classrooms.…”

“…Virtual classrooms have already been used in many studies, for example, in the studies assessing children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (e.g., Díaz-Orueta et al, 2014;Rizzo et al, 2006Rizzo et al, , 2012. These studies indicated that virtual classrooms could bring higher ecological validity of the results than other assessment instruments (Díaz-Orueta et al, 2014).…”