Can Coloring Reduce Stress and Increase Working Memory in the Elderly?

This study explores whether the observed effects of coloring on anxiety and stress apply to the elderly. Two coloring activities were administered to elderly participants to evaluate the effects on stress, anxiety, and working memory. The Mini Mental State Examination was used to establish cognitive level. The Perceived Stress Scale and Brief State Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered to obtain pretest and posttest scores on stress and anxiety levels. Working memory was measured using the Backward Digit Recall to test if the potential calming effects improve working memory. A near significant increase in stress scores was demonstrated in the mandala condition. Also, a significant increase was found in backward digit recall scores in the doodling condition. The mandala difficulty and allotted time may negate the anticipated calming effects. Those wanting to implement art therapy should provide the required materials, then allow participants to self-select the activity, and time to dedicate

Sustained Attention and Working Memory in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The aim of the present study was to investigate sustained attention and working memory in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as this issue has not been widely investigated in this population. Children with ASD were age-matched with children diagnosed with dyslexia based on standardised reading assessments. All children were administered tests of working memory, IQ, and visual sustained attention. The results using a MANOVA indicated that children with ASD performed worse than children with dyslexia on verbal tests of working memory and IQ. However, their performance in the visual tests (working memory and IQ) was similar. Furthermore, correlational analyses demonstrated considerable variability in sustained attention (accuracy and errors of commission), in contrast to children with dyslexia. This pattern suggests that children with ASD may not have a deficit in sustained attention per se. Some explanations for this attentional pattern are discussed and could be linked to their motivational framework, which means that they are less responsive to the effects of reinforcement