Alessandra Gotuzo Seabra

Age Differences in Executive Functions within a Sample of Brazilian Children and Adolescents

Executive abilities have been suggested to show differential age-related changes. This study aimed to extend this evidence to a Brazilian sample, which was composed of 572 children and adolescents aged 6 to 14 years, assessed in tests of visual and auditory working memory, selective attention, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, attentional abilities, verbal fluency and planning. ANOVAs revealed significant age effect on performance in all tests, with a trend toward better performance with the progression of age, even in differential ways. Overall, the performance on simpler tests, such as the basic attention, increased with age progression until around 11 or 12 years, when performance becomes more stable. However, in more complex tasks, including working memory tasks, the performance showed a more continuous improvement. There was gender effect in two measures: visual working memory, in which boys outperformed girls, and verbal fluency, in which the girls outperformed boys. In general, the results of this Brazilian sample were similar to those reported by studies conducted in other countries, what suggests that Brazilian socio-cultural specificities, at least of the participants of this sample, were not sufficient to reveal a distinct pattern of progression.

Working memory assessment in schizophrenia and its correlation with executive functions ability

OBJECTIVE Working memory impairment is common in schizophrenia and is possibly a cause of multiple features of the disorder. However few studies have replicated such findings of impairment patterns in Brazilian samples. The main target of this study was to assess auditory and visual working memory in patients with schizophrenia, to assess if they work as separate systems, and to correlate working memory deficits with executive functions. METHOD Twenty subjects with schizophrenia and twenty healthy subjects matched by gender, age, and schooling have participated. The abilities assessed were auditory and visual working memory, selective attention, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and planning. RESULTS Patients showed declines in all measures evaluated, except for a measure reaction time of inhibitory control. Auditory working memory was correlated to selective attention, inhibition, flexibility and planning while Visual working memory to planning and flexibility. CONCLUSION The present study suggests that working memory and executive functions deficits are present in patients with schizophrenia in the Brazilian sample evaluated. Alterations in executive functions may lead to incapacity of operation of processes of working memory. These findings may contribute to delineate and develop new strategies of schizophrenia treatment in the Brazilian population.

Is semantic verbal fluency impairment explained by executive function deficits in schizophrenia

Objective: To investigate if verbal fluency impairment in schizophrenia reflects executive function deficits or results from degraded semantic store or inefficient search and retrieval strategies. Method: Two groups were compared: 141 individuals with schizophrenia and 119 healthy age and education-matched controls. Both groups performed semantic and phonetic verbal fluency tasks. Performance was evaluated using three scores, based on 1) number of words generated; 2) number of clustered/related words; and 3) switching score. A fourth performance score based on the number of clusters was also measured. Results: Individuals with schizophrenia produced fewer words than controls. After controlling for the total number of words produced, a difference was observed between the groups in the number of cluster-related words generated in the semantic task. In both groups, the number of words generated in the semantic task was higher than that generated in the phonemic task, although a significant group vs. fluency type interaction showed that subjects with schizophrenia had disproportionate semantic fluency impairment. Working memory was positively associated with increased production of words within clusters and inversely correlated with switching. Conclusion: Semantic fluency impairment may be attributed to an inability (resulting from reduced cognitive control) to distinguish target signal from competing noise and to maintain cues for production of memory probes.

Reading component skills in dyslexia: word recognition, comprehension and processing speed

The cognitive model of reading comprehension (RC) posits that RC is a result of the interaction between decoding and linguistic comprehension. Recently, the notion of decoding skill was expanded to include word recognition. In addition, some studies suggest that other skills could be integrated into this model, like processing speed, and have consistently indicated that this skill influences and is an important predictor of the main components of the model, such as vocabulary for comprehension and phonological awareness of word recognition. The following study evaluated the components of the RC model and predictive skills in children and adolescents with dyslexia. 40 children and adolescents (8–13 years) were divided in a Dyslexic Group (DG; 18 children, MA = 10.78, SD = 1.66) and control group (CG 22 children, MA = 10.59, SD = 1.86). All were students from the 2nd to 8th grade of elementary school and groups were equivalent in school grade, age, gender, and IQ. Oral and RC, word recognition, processing speed, picture naming, receptive vocabulary, and phonological awareness were assessed. There were no group differences regarding the accuracy in oral and RC, phonological awareness, naming, and vocabulary scores. DG performed worse than the CG in word recognition (general score and orthographic confusion items) and were slower in naming. Results corroborated the literature regarding word recognition and processing speed deficits in dyslexia. However, dyslexics can achieve normal scores on RC test. Data supports the importance of delimitation of different reading strategies embedded in the word recognition component. The role of processing speed in reading problems remain unclear.

The FAS fluency test in Brazilian children and teenagers: executive demands and the effects of age and gender.

The FAS Verbal Fluency Test is widely used in neuropsychological clinical services and research. This study investigated the contributions of different executive functions, age and gender to FAS test performance in a sample of children and teenagers divided into two groups: G1 comprised 263 children aged 6-10 years, and G2 comprised 150 teenagers aged 10-14 years. All participants were assessed using the Cancellation Attention Test, the Auditory Working Memory Test, the Visual Working Memory Test, the Semantic Generation Test, and the Trail Making Test, in addition to the FAS test. For G1, age, auditory working memory and shifting were predictors of FAS performance. For G2, gender, auditory working memory, shifting and inhibition comprised the FAS explanatory model. The study contributed to our understanding of which are the best predictor variables for the FAS test in a Brazilian sample and how executive demands change with age.

Assessment of efficacy of the Phonic Literacy software for students with intellectual disability

the aim of the study was to verify the effectiveness of computer based intervention with the Phonological Awareness Literacy Software for students with intellectual disabilities. The software enables participation in activities that stimulate the development of phonological awareness and grapheme to phoneme conversion. Twenty-two children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 17 years participated in the study. Initial evaluation of cognitive development level was performed using the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. All the participants were randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control. The groups were matched for sex, age, and cognitive development level. The Reading and Writing Tests Battery and The Verbal Phonological Awareness Test were used for assessment at the beginning and end of the intervention program. Sixteen individual sessions were run with the experimental group participants using the Computerized Phonological Reading software. The results indicated improvements in writing, reading and phonological awareness skills only for the experimental group. Comparison with normative data showed that before the intervention the experimental groups performance was on the level of pre-school children, but after the intervention, they tested at the 2nd grade level.

Microcefalia e outras manifestações relacionadas ao vírus Zika: impacto nas crianças, nas famílias e nas equipes de saúde

The present study aimed to present an overview of recent national and international research on the Zika virus (ZIKV), as well as to explore possible action plans focused on children, their families and the health teams involved.Therefore, the study proposes the implementation of tracking systems in order to identify, describe and characterize the potential correlates of prenatal exposure to ZIKV, divided into three lines of action: 1. Diagnostic and etiological evaluation as well as screening of developmental problems in children confirmed or suspected of prenatal ZIKV infection. 2. Investigation of the emotional impact, quality of life, coping strategies and support network of the affected children and their families. 3. Training of multidisciplinary teams to conduct assessments and intervention programs throughout these childrens development, especially in the first three years of life. In conclusion, the recent ZIKV outbreak in Brazil and several other Latin American countries places a significant burden on the health care systems: to understand the real meaning of a potential new teratogen; to unravel the pathogenic mechanisms of ZIKV, particularly in a prevention perspective; and to recognize the broad spectrum of clinical manifestations in order to devise intervention programs.O presente estudo objetivou apresentar um panorama nacional e internacional atual dos estudos sobre o virus Zika (ZIKV) e, ancorado no avanco deste conhecimento, refletir sobre planos de acao voltados para as criancas, familias e equipes de saude envolvidas. Neste sentido, o estudo propos a implementacao de sistemas de seguimento para conhecer, descrever e caracterizar aspectos que devem estar relacionados a exposicao pre-natal ao ZIKV, divididos em tres eixos de atuacao: 1. Avaliacao diagnostica e etiologica e rastreamento de problemas de desenvolvimento nas criancas incluidas como casos confirmados ou suspeitos. 2. Investigacao do impacto emocional, da qualidade de vida, das estrategias de enfrentamento e da rede de apoio as familias das criancas incluidas. 3. Capacitacao de equipes multiprofissionais para avaliar e elaborar programas de intervencao ao longo do desenvolvimento das criancas, principalmente nos tres primeiros anos de vida. Como conclusao, o presente trabalho ressalta que o sistema de assistencia a saude encontra-se diante de grandes desafios: entender o real significado de um potencial novo teratogeno; desvendar os mecanismos patogenicos do ZIKV, principalmente para o enfrentamento preventivo, e reconhecer o amplo espectro de manifestacoes clinicas para a elaboracao de programas de intervencao.

The Promotion of Executive Functioning in a Brazilian Public School: A Pilot Study

Studies have highlighted the role of early Executive Functioning (EF) interventions with regard to preventing behavioral and mental health problems. In this sense, interventions to promote EF have been developed and tested; however, in Latin America, evidence of early EF-related interventions is still limited. We developed a program for EF promotion in children and applied it to first-grade students. Sixty-eight six-year-old children and their five teachers were divided into an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). EG teachers administered the Intervention Program for Self-regulation and Executive Functions in a classroom context. The results of the ANCOVAs showed that children in the EG had significantly better performance in measures of cognitive flexibility (Trail Making Test for Preschoolers; p = .05), attention (Cancellation Attention Test - errors in the Part 3; p = .027), inhibition (Simon Task - interference score in the part 1; p = .008 and interference reaction time in the part 2; p = .010), and planning (CHEXI - planning scale; p = .041) than those in the CG. The results show that EF can be promoted using classroom intervention in public schools. These results expand previous findings for Latin America.

Development and interactions among academic performance, word recognition, listening, and reading comprehension

Este estudo investigou como o desenvolvimento das habilidades de reconhecimento de palavras, compreensao auditiva e de leitura relaciona-se ao desempenho escolar ao longo do Ensino Fundamental I. O Teste Contrastivo de Compreensao Auditiva e de Leitura e o Teste de Reconhecimento de Palavras e Pseudopalavras foram utilizados na avaliacao de 301 estudantes brasileiros da 1a a 4a serie do Ensino Fundamental. As notas escolares foram fornecidas pela escola ao termino do ano letivo. As analises revelaram efeito significativo da serie sobre todas as variaveis e um padrao com escores mais elevados em itens que podem ser lidos pela estrategia logografica e escores mais baixos para itens que demandam processamento ortografico. Diversas correlacoes significativas entre as habilidades mensuradas e o desempenho escolar foram encontradas, porem o padrao destas correlacoes mudou nas diferentes series escolares. Houve correlacoes mais fortes entre desempenho escolar e habilidades mais elementares, como a estrategia logografica de leitura e a compreensao auditiva, na 1a serie, e com habilidades mais complexas desenvolvendo-se ao longo das tres series sucessivas, como evidente pelo aumento de correlacoes com as estrategias alfabetica e ortografica e com a compreensao de leitura. Os dados podem auxiliar a orientar praticas para estimular habilidades relevantes em cada nivel escolar.

Executive Functions, Oral Language and Writing in Preschool Children: Development and Correlations

Funcoes executivas (FE) e linguagem oral (LO) sao importantes para a aprendizagem da leitura e escrita (LE) e para o desenvolvimento de demais competencias na fase pre-escolar. O estudo investigou a progressao e as relacoes entre os desempenhos nestas competencias em pre-escolares. Participaram 90 criancas, idade media de 4,91 anos, estudantes do Jardim I e II de uma escola particular de SP, avaliadas, individualmente, em uma bateria de nove instrumentos de FE, LO e LE. Houve aumento dos desempenhos em funcao do nivel escolar para todas as medidas de LO e LE, porem apenas para a medida de atencao no dominio das FE. Correlacoes significativas foram evidenciadas entre medidas que avaliam um mesmo dominio cognitivo, assim como interdominios, ainda que retratando um padrao diferencial. Os resultados sugerem que LO e LE parecem desenvolver-se rapidamente no curso da pre-escola, enquanto as FE apresentam desenvolvimento mais lento. Os dominios de LO e LE, bem como FE e LE sao mais interdependentes; enquanto FE e LO sao relativamente mais independentes.Funcoes executivas (FE) e linguagem oral (LO) sao importantes para a aprendizagem da leitura e escrita (LE) e para o desenvolvimento de demais competencias na fase pre-escolar. O estudo investigou a progressao e as relacoes entre os desempenhos nestas competencias em pre-escolares. Participaram 90 criancas, idade media de 4,91 anos, estudantes do Jardim I e II de uma escola particular de SP, avaliadas, individualmente, em uma bateria de nove instrumentos de FE, LO e LE. Houve aumento dos desempenhos em funcao do nivel escolar para todas as medidas de LO e LE, porem apenas para a medida de atencao no dominio das FE. Correlacoes significativas foram evidenciadas entre medidas que avaliam um mesmo dominio cognitivo, assim como interdominios, ainda que retratando um padrao diferencial. Os resultados sugerem que LO e LE parecem desenvolver-se rapidamente no curso da pre-escola, enquanto as FE apresentam desenvolvimento mais lento. Os dominios de LO e LE, bem como FE e LE sao mais interdependentes; enquanto FE e LO sao relativamente mais independentes.