Visual filtering and covert orienting in persons with Down syndrome

Abstract

A forced-choice reaction time (RT) task was used to examine the relations between covert orienting (shifts of visual attention independent of eye movement) and filtering (the mhlbition of processing of melevant stllnu11) components of attention in pers'Jns with Down syndrome (n = 17} and children of average intelligence (n = 17) matched for mental age (MA), (MA = approximately 5 years). Conditions varied with regard ta presence or absl.::nce of distractors\ and the validity (valid, invalid, or neutraI) of location .;ues.RT/p(correct) scores of both groups were longer in distractor-present conditions and in conditions when the location cue provided incorrect information (invalid cue). In addition., RT/p(correct) scores of both groups were longer wh en it was nl~cessary to sirnultaneously search for a target :and filter out irn~lfvant information, than when each of these attention demanding tasks was utilized separately. However, there were lIO

Attention and Vigilance in Children with Down Syndrome

“…This transform is undefined if P = 1 or 0, which occurred in three cases which were subsequently excluded from analyses. K‐BIT raw scores were converted to standard scores from which an approximate mental age was obtained (Randolph & Burack, 2000).…”

“…The sample comprised 16 males and 11 females, with an average standard score of 66.04 and mean mental age of 6.71 years, assessed using the matrices subtest of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K‐BIT) (Kaufman & Kaufman, 1990). This measure has been used previously to obtain an approximate measure of non‐verbal mental age in research involving participants with DS (Randolph & Burack, 2000). Characteristics of the two groups are presented in Table 1.…”

Visual-spatial processing in children and adolescents with Down's syndrome: a computerized assessment of memory skills

“…Although there has been considerable research about possible mechanisms underlying the verbal impairment, it is not clear which are the factors underlying the (controversial) visual‐spatial relative strength. Preserved visual‐attentional abilities (Iarocci & Burack 1998; Randolph & Burack 2000; Goldman et al. 2005) and good spatial abilities (Laws 2002) are some of the possible underpinnings; however, the evidence supporting each of these proposals is still controversial.…”

Rule-Based Category Learning in Down Syndrome

“…There also may be other aspects of executive functioning that underlie developmental improvement on rule-based category learning tasks (e.g., set-shifting), though we are aware of no studies that have demonstrated this specifically. Several studies have shown that children and adults with DS perform below their developmental level on a variety of tasks measuring inhibition (e.g., Atkinson & Braddock, 2012; Borella, Carretta, & Lanfranchi, 2013; Kogan et al, 2002; Lanfranchi, Jerman, Dal Pont, Alberti, & Vianello, 2010; Rowe, Lavender, & Turk, 2006; Wilding, Cornish, & Munir, 2002; but see Carney, Brown, & Henry, 2013; Lee et al, 2011; Pennington, Moon, Edgin, Stedron, & Nadel, 2003; Randolf & Burack, 2000) and working memory (e.g., Carney et al, 2013; Lanfranchi, Cornoldi, & Vianello, 2004; Lanfranchi, Jerman, & Vianello, 2009; Lanfranchi et al, 2010; Munir, Cornish, & Wilding, 2000; Vicari, Carlesimo, & Caltagirone, 1995; but see Edgin, Pennington, & Mervis, 2010). Although few studies have examined set-shifting directly in DS, some evidence points to special difficulty in this skill (Carney et al, 2013; Lanfranchi et al, 2010; Rowe et al, 2006).…”