• DOI:10.1080/09297040409609811
• Corpus ID: 216140710

Examining the Development of Attention and Executive Functions in Children With a Novel Paradigm

@article{Klimkeit2004ExaminingTD,
  title={Examining the Development of Attention and Executive Functions in Children With a Novel Paradigm},
  author={Ester Ivonne Klimkeit and Jason B. Mattingley and Dianne Melinda Sheppard and Maree Farrow and John L. Bradshaw},
  journal={Child Neuropsychology},
  year={2004},
  volume={10},
  pages={201 - 211}
}

• E. Klimkeit, J. Mattingley, +2 authors J. Bradshaw
• Published 1 September 2004
• Psychology, Biology
• Child Neuropsychology

The development of attention and executive functions in normal children (7–12 years) was investigated using a novel selective reaching task, which involved reaching as rapidly as possible towards a target, while at times having to ignore a distractor. The information processing paradigm allowed the measurement of various distinct dimensions of behaviour within a single task. The largest improvements in vigilance, set-shifting, response inhibition, selective attention, and impulsive responding were observed to occur between the ages of 8 and 10, with a plateau in performance between 10 and 12 years of age. These findings, consistent with a step-wise model of development, coincide with the observed developmental spurt in frontal brain functions between 7 and 10 years of age, and indicate that attention and executive functions develop in parallel. This task appears to be a useful research tool in the assessment of attention and executive functions, within a single task. Thus it may have a role in determining which cognitive functions are most affected in different childhood disorders.