The Effect of decreased General irritability oninfant's attention

Introduction: The dynamic interaction between mother and infant is one of the indicative factors of infants’ social and emotional development especially in stressful situations as cognitive evaluating.Methods: An experimental study was completed in 2010 in Tehran on a total of 40 infants (18 boys and 22girls) forming two alternative groups and varying in age of infancy (4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months). We used a 60 second mute popular “Tom & Jerry” animation to compare the infants’ attention in the presence or absence of mothers’ lap. Changes in orientation time, duration of sustained attention, and the total look duration were measured in terms of eye movement and heart rate changes through pulse oximeter. Furthermore, infants’ presence of general irritability in both conditions was observed.Results: We found that infants in their mothers’ laps showed more length of total look duration and sustained attention and less amount of general irritability than those sitting on baby seats. However, we have found no significant differences in infants’ total look duration, sustained attention and general irritability across age. Moreover, no significant differences in infants’ orientation were found across two groups of infants’ positioning.Conclusion: Mother’s presence in the site can be considered as an external force of controlling for kids in doing their tasks thereby increasing their duration of focusing attention on the task.Declaration of Interest: None.Keywords: Infant positioning, Sustain attentio

Comparative Study of Sustained Attentional Bias on Emotional Processing in ADHD Children to Pictures with Eye-Tracking

How to Cite This Article: Pishyareh E, Tehrani-doost M, Mahmoodi-gharaie J, Khorrami A, Rahmdar SR. A Comparative Study of SustainedAttentional Bias on Emotional Processing in ADHD Children to Pictures with Eye-Tracking. Iran J Child Neurol. 2015 Winter;9(1):64-70.AbstractObjectiveADHD children have anomalous and negative behavior especially in emotionally related fields when compared to other. Evidence indicates that attention has an impact on emotional processing. The present study evaluates the effect of emotional processing on the sustained attention of children with ADHD type C.Materials & Methods Sixty participants form two equal groups (each with 30 children) of normal and ADHD children) and each subject met the required selected criterion as either a normal or an ADHD child. Both groups were aged from 6–11-years-old. All pictures were chosen from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and presented paired emotional and neutral scenes in the following categories: pleasant-neutral; pleasant-unpleasant; unpleasant-neutral; and neutral–neutral. Sustained attention was evaluated based on the number and duration of total fixation and was compared between the groups with MANOVA analysis.ResultsThe duration of sustained attention on pleasant in the pleasant-unpleasant pair was significant. Bias in duration of sustained attention on pleasant scenes in pleasant-neutral pairs is significantly different between the groups.ConclusionSuch significant differences might be indicative of ADHD children deficiencies in emotional processing. It seems that the highly deep effect of emotionally unpleasant scenes to gain the focus of ADHD children’s attention is responsible for impulsiveness and abnormal processing of emotional stimuli. References1. Sadock, B.J., H.I. Kaplan, and V.A. Sadock, Kaplan & Sadcok’s Synopsis of Psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences, Clinical Psychiatry. Lippincott; Williams & Wilkins. 2003.2. Cormier, E., Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a review and update. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 2008. 23(5): p. 345-357.3. Casey, R.J., Emotional competence in children with externalizing and internalizing disorders. Emotional development in atypical children 1996: p. 161-183.4. Cadesky, E.B., V.L. Mota, and R.J. Schachar, Beyond words: How do children with ADHD and/or conduct problems process nonverbal information about affect? Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 2000. 39(9): p. 1160-1167.5. Norbury, C., et al., Eye-movement patterns are associated with communicative competence in autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 2009. 50(7): p. 834-842.6. Vike E. The Perception of Emotional Expressions in Incarcerated Youth 2002.7. Oades, R., Frontal, temporal and lateralized brain function in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a psychophysiological and neuropsychological viewpoint on development. Behavioural Brain Research 1998; 94(1): p. 83-95.8. Singh SD, et al. Recognition of facial expressions of emotion by children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Behavior Modification 1998. 22(2): p. 128-142.9. Yuill N, Lyon J. Selective difficulty in recognizing facial expressions of emotion in boys with ADHD. European child & adolescent psychiatry  2007;16(6):398-404.10. LeDoux J. Emotion circuits in the brain. Annual review of neuroscience 2000;12(1):155-184.11. Da Fonseca, D., et al., Emotion understanding in children with ADHD. Child Psychiatry & Human Development 2009; 40(1):111-121.12. Guevremont DC, Dumas MD. Peer relationship problems and disruptive behavior disorders. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 1994; 2(3):164.13. Tucha L, et al. Vigilance and sustained attention in children and adults with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders 2009;12(5): 410.14. Barry, T.D., Robert D. Lyman, and L.G. Klinger, Academic Underachievement and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: The Negative Impact of Symptom Severity on School Performance. Journal of School Psychology 2002;40(3):259-283.15. Douglas VI. Stop, look and listen: The problem of sustained attention and impulse control in hyperactive and normal children. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement. 1972; 4(4):259.16. Lang P, Bradley M, Cuthbert B. International affective picture system (IAPS): Technical manual and affective ratings. NIMH Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, 1997.17. Watts SE, Weems . CF. Associations among selective attention, memory bias, cognitive errors and symptoms of anxiety in youth. Journal of abnormal child psychology 2006; 34(6):838-849.18. Nummenmaa L, Hyo¨na J, Calvo MG. Eye Movement Assessment of Selective Attentional Capture by Emotional Pictures. Emotion 2006; 6(2):257-268.19. Kiss M, et al. Efficient attentional selection predicts distractor devaluation: event-related potential evidence for a direct link between attention and emotion. J Cogn Neurosci 2007. 19(8): p. 1316-22.20. Kinsbourne M, Bemporad B. Lateralization of emotion: A model and the evidence. The psychobiology of affective development, 1984: p. 259-291.21. Da Fonseca D, et al. Emotion understanding in children with ADHD. Child psychiatry and human development 2009; 40(1): 111-121.22. Calvo MG, Lang PJ. Gaze patterns when looking at emotional pictures: Motivationally biased attention . Motivation and Emotion 2004; 28:221-243.23. Armony JL, Dolan RJ. Modulation of spatial attention by fear-conditioned stimuli: an event-related fMRI study. Neuropsychologia 2002; 40(7): p. 817-826.24. Kanske, P., Exploring Executive Attention in Emotion: ERP and FMRI Evidence2008: Max Planck Inst. For Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.25. Whalen CK, Henker B. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders. Handbook of child psychopathology 1998; 3: 181-211.26. Shaywitz BA, Shaywitz SE. Comorbidity: A critical issue in attention deficit disorder. Journal of Child Neurology 1991; 6(1 suppl): S13.27. Pennington BF,Ozonoff S. Executive functions and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 1996. 37(1): p. 51-87.28. Vike E. The Perception of Emotional Expressions in Incarcerated Youth 2001.29. Deans P, et al. Use of Eye Movement Tracking in the Differential Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Reading Disability Psychology 2010; 1: 238-246.31. Caseras X, et al., Biases in visual orienting to negative and positive scenes in dysphoria: An eye movement study. Journal of abnormal psychology 2007; 116(3): 491.32. Eizenman M, et al. A naturalistic visual scanning approach to assess selective attention in major depressive disorder. Psychiatry research 2003; 118(2):117-128.33. Kellough J, et al. Time course of selective attention in clinically depressed young adults: An eye tracking study. Behaviour Research and Therapy 2008; 46(11): 1238-1243.34. Krauel K, et al. Emotional memory in ADHD patients with and without comorbid ODD/CD. Journal of Neural Transmission 2009; 116(1):117-120

The Correlation Between Computerized Cognitive Tests Scores With Functional Cognitive Tests in People With Multiple Sclerosis

Objectives: In order to rehabilitate cognitive disorders, it is necessary to carefully evaluate cognitive function. Given the variety of assessments, including computerized and functional tests, the aim of this study was to determine whether computerized test scores really reflect a person’s functional ability. In this study, we measured the correlation between computerized and functional evaluation results Methods: In this cross-section study, 45 people (9 males and 36 females) with multiple sclerosis with an Expanded Disability Score (EDSS) of 1 to 5 were recruited. To assess their cognitive function, the CANTAB tests (SOC, DMS, and SSP tests) and the Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) battery were used. The data were then processed with SPSS software v. 22. Results: The results showed that the CANTAB test is well correlated with the LOTCA battery. A high correlation was observed between LOTCA’s “visual perception” with delayed matching to sample (r=0.909), LOTCA’s “spatial perception” with spatial span test (r=0.907), LOTCA’s “visual organization” with stocking of Cambridge (r=0.961), and “mental operations” in LOTCA with “stocking of Cambridge” (r=0.835).  Discussion: Due to the very good convergence of these two tests, in many cases, computerized tests can be used instead of functional tests

The Effectiveness of Son-Rise Program on Improving Social Interactions and Communication Status among the Children with Autism

Introduction: Autism affects the person's ability to communicate with others, and appropriate response to the outside environment. One of the therapeutic approaches in children with autism is the Son-Rise Program. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Son-Rise Program on improving social interactions and communication status among the children with autism. Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest and posttest design, and a control group. 30 children with autism were selected using convenience sampling method, and were assigned randomly to equal groups of experimental (with intensive Son-Rise Program) and control (with common rehabilitation interventions). The Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS2) and the Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) were used as pretest for assessment, and Gilliam Autism Rating Scale was use for re-evaluation. Paired and independent t tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: The Son-Rise Program had a significant effect on the social interaction of children with autism compared with common rehabilitation interventions (P = 0.001). In addition, the effect of this approach on communication status in children with autism was not significant compared to the control group (P = 0.110). Conclusion: It can be concluded that Son-Rise Program could improve social interaction in children with autism. However, the influence of this program on communication status among this group of children needs to be assessed more in future interventional clinical trial studies with larger sample sizes

Motor-independent Visual Perception Skill Indexes are Related with Reading Skills in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Objective: Cerebral palsy is one of the most common causes of physical disability in childhood that lead to various difficulties for children. These children may have abnormalities in visual perception. Visual perception plays an important role in learning of basic childhood&rsquo;s skills. This research was designed to study the relation between each of subtests of visual perception with accuracy and speed components of reading skills in school-aged cerebral palsy children. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 24 spastic cerebral palsy students in second grade (10 girls and 14 boy) were selected be available as from Tehran&rsquo;s rehabilitation clinics. Visual perception and Reading skills were evaluated with the Test of Visual Perceptual Skill-revised (TVPS-R) and Diagnostic Reading Test. Results: The results showed that between standard score of visual perception with accuracy and speed components of reading skills of cerebral palsy student were significantly correlated. Visual Discrimination with accuracy (P<0.001) and with speed (P<0.001), Visual Memory with accuracy&nbsp; (P=0.002) and with speed (P=0.004), Visual-Spatial with accuracy (P<0.001) and with speed (P<0.001), Form Constancy with accuracy (P=0.003) and with speed (p<0.001), Visual Sequential Memory with accuracy (P=0.023) and with speed (P<0.028), Figure Ground Discrimination with accuracy (P=0.010) and with speed (P<0.011), Visual Closure with accuracy (p=0.009) and with speed (P<0.009) Conclusion: In general we can say that the relationship between visual perception skills with reading skills in first and second grade students with cerebral palsy is evident

Investigating the Patterns of Attention Performance in Children With Mathematical Learning Disorder, With Using “Test of Everyday Attention for Children”

Objective Mathematical learning disorder is a type of neurodevelopmental disorder detected by three types of working memory deficits, procedural and visual-spatial problems. The limited capacity of attention and a lot of environmental stimuli have encountered children with learning disorders with the problems. Since attention is one of the most important cognitive functions in the development of mathematics learning, it is important to recognize and evaluate a variety of attention deficits in this group of disorders. Therefore, considering to the three-factor model of Manly, based on sustained attention, selective attention, and control attention, in this study difference of patterns of attention in children with mathematical learning disorder using &ldquo;Test of Everyday Attention for Children&rdquo; was investigated. Materials & Methods The present study was a descriptive-analytic study in a community of students aged 7-11 years with a learning disorder in Tehran, Iran. The selection was based on the early diagnosis of learning disorder with psychiatric and the standard intelligence scores of the Wechsler test in the academic records. Accordingly, 17 male and female students aged 7-11 years with the mathematical disorder were selected from five public learning centers in Tehran and 17 normal children were matched in age and gender. Initially, the demographic information questionnaire was completed by families. Then A version of &ldquo;Test of everyday attention for children&rdquo; was taken by the researcher during the standard period in the calming room. Accordingly, two groups with a mathematical learning disorder and normal peers were compared in three domains of sustained attention, selective, control in &ldquo;Test of Everyday Attention for Children.&rdquo; Results The results of the Shapiro-Wilk test indicated that the distribution of values of all variables, except &ldquo;sky search dual task&rdquo; (sustained attention) and the speed of &ldquo;creatures counting&rdquo; (control attention), have a normal distribution in the learning disorder group (P>0.05). While the values of variables such as &ldquo;Score&rdquo; (sustained attention), &ldquo;Opposite worlds&rdquo;, accuracy of &ldquo;creatures counting&rdquo; (control attention), and &ldquo;walk don&rsquo;t walk&rdquo;(sustained attention) do not follow a normal distribution in the control group (P<0.05). In sustained attention and control attention domains, the results of the nonparametric tests indicated that have a significant difference in two groups in the subtests of &ldquo;Score&rdquo;, &ldquo;walk don&rsquo;t walk&rdquo;, &ldquo;sky search dual task&rdquo;, &ldquo;creatures counting&rdquo; and &quot;opposite worlds.&quot; Homogeneity of variances with the Leven test, reports that equality of variances. Accordingly, the results of independent t-test indicated that children with mathematical learning disorder were worse than the control group in the &quot;Code Transition&quot; and &ldquo;Score Dual Task&quot; subtests. In the domain of selective attention, the results of independent t-test indicated that significant difference in the subtests of &quot;map mission&quot; and the speed and accuracy of &quot;sky search&quot; in the two groups. Therefore, all domains of sustained and control attention (P<0.001) and selective attention (P<0.05) were significantly different in the two groups. Conclusion The results demonstrate that children with mathematical learning disorders were significantly worse than their normal peers in all three domains. Findings indicated that &ldquo;Test of Everyday Attention for Children&rdquo; has the potential to evaluate the attention deficits in mathematical learning disorder as compared with normal peers. Therefore, it can be an appropriate tool for the evaluation in this group

Effectiveness of Audiovisual Stimulation on Executive function in Children with High-functioning Autism

Objectives: Autism is one subsets of pervasive developmental disorders that are characterized by abnormal behaviors and verbal communication. In recent years, the reason for this communication disorder has been developed for determining executive function. The current study investigated the feasibility of audiovisual stimulation intervention focused on enhancing executive function in children with high-functioning autism. Method: 41 children diagnosed with high functioning autism randomly selected and assigned in to experimental (20) and control (21) group. Initially both of groups were administered by the &quot;Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning Test&quot;.then intervention group received 18 sessions of audiovisual stimulation across 6weeks and two groups were administered by test again. Results: Multivariate analysis was used to compare significant advances in variables progress. Considering significance level, outcome indicates that audio visual stimulation used in the present study increased executive function (inhibition, shifting and planning ability) based on Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning measures (F= 5/55, P&lt;0/05, F= 24/587, P&lt; 0/05, F= 15/28, p&lt;0/05). Discussion: These findings suggest that the audiovisual stimulation platform is a promising tool for improving executive function subsets. Similarly, the use of such technology that is user friendly appears to prevent onset of early behavioral problems and executive dysfunction in children with autism

Effectiveness of Audiovisual Stimulation on Executive function in Children with High-functioning Autism

Objectives: Autism is one subsets of pervasive developmental disorders that are characterized by abnormal behaviors and verbal communication. In recent years, the reason for this communication disorder has been developed for determining executive function. The current study investigated the feasibility of audiovisual stimulation intervention focused on enhancing executive function in children with high-functioning autism. Method: 41 children diagnosed with high functioning autism randomly selected and assigned in to experimental (20) and control (21) group. Initially both of groups were administered by the &quot;Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning Test&quot;.then intervention group received 18 sessions of audiovisual stimulation across 6weeks and two groups were administered by test again. Results: Multivariate analysis was used to compare significant advances in variables progress. Considering significance level, outcome indicates that audio visual stimulation used in the present study increased executive function (inhibition, shifting and planning ability) based on Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning measures (F= 5/55, P&lt;0/05, F= 24/587, P&lt; 0/05, F= 15/28, p&lt;0/05). Discussion: These findings suggest that the audiovisual stimulation platform is a promising tool for improving executive function subsets. Similarly, the use of such technology that is user friendly appears to prevent onset of early behavioral problems and executive dysfunction in children with autism

Translating and Standardizing the Persian Version Measure of Process of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP) in Down Syndrome

Background & Objective: Down syndrome is the most common type of chromosomal abnormality that causes mental disability. In recent years, the life expectancy of these children has increased, so their special needs will also increase. Family-centered interventions are of particular importance for the provision of services to children and their families. There are several tools for measuring family-centered services from the perspective of parents and service providers. But the Persian version of validity and reliability is not found in information resources. Therefore, the aim of this study was to translate and standardize the Persian version of the questionnaire for measure of process of care for service providers (MPOC-SP) in children with Down Syndrome in Isfahan. Materials & Methods: The original version of the Measure of process of care for service providers (MPOC-SP) in a cross-sectional study was translated in three stages. A final version of Persian was provided. Experts' opinions and Kappa agreement coefficient were used to examine the face and content validity. To determine the reliability of the Persian version, by random sampling, 83 occupational therapists, general practitioners and psychiatrists were selected and test-retest was administered. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS 19 software, Cronbach's alpha and intra-cluster correlation coefficient, and multi factors analysis. Results: The internal consistency of the four domains of the questionnaire was obtained using Cronbach's alpha between 0.778 and 0.881. The reliability values ​​were within the cluster correlation index between 0.75 and 0.83. The correlation between the four domains was favorable on the basis of Spearman correlation coefficient. The correlation of each of the questions with the four fields of the questionnaire in multi factors analysis (0.72-0.87) was also appropriate Conclusion: The Persian version of measure of process of care for service providers in children with Down Syndrome with 27 items and in four different areas has a good validity and reliability as a tool for evaluating the provision of services in all centers for providing services to children with Down Syndrome

Vestibular System Evaluation: Results on Analysis of Vestibulony stagmography (VNG))

Objective: Falls are one of the major problems in the elderly and are considered one of the “Geriatric Giants”. Recurrent falls an important cause of morbidity and mortality in this segment of the population and is a marker of poor physical and cognitive status. The aim of the present study is to compare the VNG (Videonystagmography) test results in adults with and without falls history. Materials & Methods: 60 adults ( 30 with one or more falls history and 30 without any falls history) above 65 year old performed the VNG subtests included saccade, gaze, smooth pursuit, positional nystagmus, spontaneous nystagmus and caloric at rehabilitation faculty of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Results: According to the data 74% of the faller group showed abnormal performance in the caloric subtest and more than 60% had abnormal results in the saccade, gaze and smooth pursuit subtests too. The members who suffered from central vestibular disorders had worse function than the others who suffered from peripheral vestibular ones. Conclusion: The non- faller group had better performance than the faller group in all of the subtests which indicates better vestibular system status in this group. According to the results, VNG performance can help guide the clinicians in the development of a safe exercise program