Motor cognitive processing speed estimation among the primary schoolchildren by deriving prediction formula: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives:Motor cognitive processing speed (MCPS) is often reported in terms of reaction time. In spite of being a significant indicator of function, behavior, and performance, MCPS is rarely used in clinics and schools to identify kids with slowed motor cognitive processing. The reason behind this is the lack of availability of convenient formula to estimate MCPS. Thereby, the aim of this study is to estimate the MCPS in the primary schoolchildren.Materials and Methods:Two hundred and four primary schoolchildren, aged 6–12 years, were recruited by the cluster sampling method for this cross-sectional study. MCPS was estimated by the ruler drop method (RDM). By this method, a metallic stainless steel ruler was suspended vertically such that 5 cm graduation of the lower was aligned between the web space of the child's hand, and the child was asked to catch the moving ruler as quickly as possible, once released from the examiner's hand. Distance the ruler traveled was recorded and converted into time, which is the MCPS. Multiple regression analysis of variables was performed to determine the influence of independent variables on MCPS.Results:Mean MCPS of the entire sample of 204 primary schoolchildren is 230.01 ms ± 26.5 standard deviation (95% confidence interval; 226.4–233.7 ms) that ranged from 162.9 to 321.6 ms. By stepwise regression analysis, we derived the regression equation, MCPS (ms) = 279.625–5.495 × age, with 41.3% (R = 0.413) predictability and 17.1% (R2 = 0.171 and adjusted R2 = 0.166) variability.Conclusion:MCPS prediction formula through RDM in the primary schoolchildren has been established.

Reaction Times of Preschool Children on the Ruler Drop Test: A Cross-Sectional Study With Reference Values

“…RT can be assessed in young children to evaluate developmental changes and individual differences in sustained attention and organization of behavior (Weissberg, Ruff, & Lawson, 1990). Moreover, RT tasks assess several brain functions, such as different attentional processes (Stuss et al., 2005), interhemispheric transfer, age-related changes in cognition (Anstey et al., 2007), cognitive flexibility (Hillman et al., 2014), and motor and cognitive processing speed (Aranha, Moitra, et al, 2017). Simple RT measures correlate significantly with the measures of general intelligence ( g factor) and are considered elementary measures of cognition (Woodley, Te Nijenhuis, & Murphy, 2014).…”

“…There are only a limited number of studies that have correlated physical and motor fitness with growth and maturity (Malina & Katzmarzyk, 2006), particularly on RT in preschool children, as most studies of RT have been conducted in children over six years of age (Aranha, Saxena, et al, 2017; Madsen et al., 2011; Manna, Pan, & Chowdhury, 2014; Tamnes, Fjell, Westlye, Ostby, & Walhovd, 2012). Moreover, there is limited information about the reliability and validity of fitness and motor tests in preschool children (Ortega et al., 2015), though reliable measures of fitness and motor tests are necessary in order to investigate the relationship between physical fitness and health in this population (Latorre Román et al., 2015; Ortega et al., 2015).…”

“…Moreover, prior researchers found an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) equal to 0.744 (95% confidence interval [0.836, 0.602]), the Bland–Altman graphic showed limits of agreement (2 SD ) of 13.8 and −13.6 cm, and the mean of the differences was equal to 0.10 ± 6.87 cm (Latorre Román et al., 2015). In addition, the RDT has also been used in previous studies among school-aged children (Aranha, Saxena, et al, 2017; Fong, Ng, & Chung, 2013; Manna et al., 2014). In this regard, a previous study showed no significant differences between boys and girls in RDT for age groups 6-12 years; in addition, the RDT performance increased with age, and a significant change occurred between six and eight years of age (Aranha, Saxena, et al, 2017).…”

“…Despite being a significant indicator of function, behavior, and performance, RT has been infrequently employed in school settings to identify children with slowed motor cognitive processing. We assert that an early identification of delayed RT would help teachers and parents address children’s functional deficits and quality of life (Aranha, Saxena, et al, 2017). Yet, to the best of our knowledge, there is no information available about reference values of RDT in preschool children.…”

Increasing cardiopulmonary aerobic activity improves motor cognitive response time: An inference from preliminary one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study

“…Motor cognitive response time (MCRT) is expressed in terms of reaction time or response time, which assess the speed of information processing and the response of co-ordinated peripheral movements 1 . There are numerous factors that affects MCRT in normal healthy individuals.…”