Kota Suzuki

Transition from reactive control to proactive control across conflict adaptation: An sLORETA study.

In a flanker task, behavioral performance is modulated by previous trial compatibility (i.e., conflict adaptation); a longer response time (RT) is found for a compatible stimulus preceded by an incompatible stimulus than by a compatible stimulus, whereas a shorter RT is found for an incompatible stimulus preceded by an incompatible stimulus than by a compatible stimulus. We examined the temporal characteristics of cognitive control across conflict adaptation using prestimulus electroencephalogram oscillatory activity and an event-related potential component, N1. Prestimulus frontal (Fz) and posterior (O1 and O2) alpha1 (7-9 Hz) and alpha2 (10-13 Hz) activities were enhanced in trials preceded by incompatible stimuli more than those preceded by compatible stimuli. Furthermore, there were significant differences of alpha2 current densities between previous trial compatibilities in the superior/medial frontal cortex. We suggested that the modulation of alpha activity by previous trial compatibility was associated with proactive attentional control. N1 amplitude was decreased in trials preceded by incompatible stimuli more than in those preceded by compatible stimuli. N1 current densities in the right inferior frontal cortex were smaller for an incompatible stimulus preceded by an incompatible stimulus than those preceded by a compatible stimulus, suggesting that demands of transient cognitive control induced by an incompatible stimulus were decreased by the proactive control. Moreover, correlational analysis showed that participants with a larger increase in alpha2 activity tended to have a larger decrease in N1 in trials preceded by incompatible stimulus. These findings revealed that the manner of cognitive control for the incompatible stimulus was transited from reactive control to proactive control across conflict adaptation.

Applicability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition to Japanese children: A study of the Age Band 2

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) requires a precise assessment of motor skills via a standardized tool such as the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (MABC-2). Although the MABC-2 has been widely used in English-speaking countries, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have examined its applicability to Japanese children. Thus, it has been difficult to diagnose DCD in Japan. AIMS As a preliminary investigation preceding its formal standardization in Japan, we examined the applicability of the MABC-2. METHODS AND PROCEDURES Participants comprised 132 typically developing Japanese children who completed a test set of the MABC-2 for Age Band 2. We analyzed both internal consistency and factorial validity for our Japanese sample. We also included a comparison between our sample of Japanese children and the normative sample of the MABC-2, as well as an examination of gender differences. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS Our results indicated acceptable internal consistency and scale homogeneity. High factorial validity, which has not been examined in other populations, was also confirmed for the test set. Moreover, we found differences in component scores between the Japanese and normative children with respect to Manual Dexterity and Balance. We also found that girls obtained superior Manual Dexterity and Balance scores compared with boys. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The present findings represent the first step towards the standardization of the MABC-2 in a Japanese population.

Lateralized frontal activity for Japanese phonological processing during child development.

Phonological awareness is essential for reading, and is common to all language systems, including alphabetic languages and Japanese. This cognitive factor develops during childhood, and is thought to be associated with shifts in brain activity. However, the nature of this neurobiological developmental shift is unclear for speakers of Japanese, which is not an alphabetical language. The present study aimed to reveal a shift in brain functions for processing phonological information in native-born Japanese children. We conducted a phonological awareness task and examined hemodynamic activity in 103 children aged 7–12 years. While younger children made mistakes and needed more time to sort phonological information in reverse order, older children completed the task quickly and accurately. Additionally, younger children exhibited increased activity in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which may be evidence of immature phonological processing skills. Older children exhibited dominant activity in the left compared with the right DLPFC, suggesting that they had already acquired phonological processing skills. We also found significant effects of age and lateralized activity on behavioral performance. During earlier stages of development, the degree of left lateralization appears to have a smaller effect on behavioral performance. Conversely, in later stages of development, the degree of left lateralization appears to have a stronger influence on behavioral performance. These initial findings regarding a neurobiological developmental shift in Japanese speakers suggest that common brain regions play a critical role in the development of phonological processing skills among different languages systems, such as Japanese and alphabetical languages.

Excessive hemodynamic activity in the superior frontal cortex during the flanker task in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Near-infrared spectroscopy studies in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have shown excessive prefrontal activity responsible for coping with interference. However, it is possible that the previous results were influenced by verbal, reading, and memory developments. The flanker task is an interference task that does not require a verbal response, reading, or memorization. We examined activity in the superior frontal cortex (SFC) during the flanker task in 12 children with ADHD and 14 children with typical development using near-infrared spectroscopy. SFC activity was significantly greater in children with ADHD than in those with typical development. The results showed excessive interference coping activity in children with ADHD irrespective of verbal, reading, and memory development. Moreover, SFC activity was positively correlated with the inattention subscale score of the ADHD rating scale. We suggest that children with ADHD need greater SFC activation to cope with interference, and the inefficient mechanism is demanding and hard to sustain, which causes inattention symptoms of children with ADHD.

Development and Evaluation of a Parenting Resilience Elements Questionnaire (PREQ) Measuring Resiliency in Rearing Children with Developmental Disorders

We developed a parenting resilience elements questionnaire (PREQ) measuring the degree to which mothers possess elements that aid in adapting to challenges and difficulties related to children with developmental disorders (DD). A total of 424 parents of children with DD were recruited from five medical institutes. Psychometric properties of PREQ were evaluated using data of 363 mothers of children with DD. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis was performed, predicting depressive symptoms and parenting behavior with PREQ subscales, a general health questionnaire, and the total difficulties score of a strength and difficulties questionnaire. Factor analysis revealed three reliable factors: “knowledge of the child’s characteristics,” “perceived social supports,” and “positive perceptions of parenting.” Moreover, multiple regression analysis showed that “knowledge of the child’s characteristics” was associated with parenting behavior, whereas “perceived social supports” predicted depressive symptoms; “positive perceptions of parenting” influenced both parenting behavior and depressive symptoms. These findings indicated that the PREQ may be used as a scale measuring resiliency in mothers of children with DD and is useful for evaluating their parenting ability in clinical interventions.

Probability effects of response and stimulus on error-related negativity.

Recent theories suggest that error is detected based on the process generating an appropriate response from the presented stimulus, including stimulus processing (e.g. encoding and evaluation) and activation of the appropriate response. This study examines the effects of stimulus processing (related to stimulus deviance) and activation of the appropriate response on error-related negativity (ERN/Ne). We administered a three-choice-response task, in which participants were asked to respond with a finger corresponding to the presented stimulus. The stimuli consisted of three letters, one of those was presented with low probability (20%) and the others were presented with high probability (40%) each. Using error-correcting responses, we estimated the degree to which the appropriate response is activated. The error-correcting response was faster on the high-probability rather than the low-probability trials, suggesting that the appropriate response was more active immediately after an error on the high-probability trials. However, the ERN/Ne amplitude was not larger on the high-probability as compared with the low-probability trials. Moreover, we found an increase in ERN/Ne amplitude on the low-probability trials, in which N1 was enhanced with regard to stimulus deviance. These results suggested that ERN/Ne is associated with stimulus processing rather than activation of the appropriate response.

Spatial working memory encoding type modulates prefrontal cortical activity

Spatial working memory (SWM) involves both simultaneous and sequential encoding, but the differences in their neural correlates are unclear. We investigated the differences in prefrontal cortex activity related to these SWM encoding types. We also examined the patterns of brain activity influencing individual visuospatial abilities (VSA). We conducted SWM tasks with two different conditions, sequential and simultaneous encoding, and examined hemodynamic activity in 39 healthy adults using near-infrared spectroscopy. The bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was activated more strongly in the sequential condition compared with the simultaneous condition. This suggests that prefrontal cortex activity underlying SWM is modulated by the type of encoding. We also found that individuals with high VSA showed weaker activation in the right-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared with those with lower VSA during the simultaneous condition. This hypoactivation is thought to reflect neural efficiency in the individuals with high ability. These findings are expected to lead to a better understanding of neural substrates for SWM.

Predictive factors of success in neurofeedback training for children with ADHD

ABSTRACT Introduction: Neurofeedback (NF) training aims the enhancement of self-regulation over brain activities. While it is largely recognized as an effective treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the existence of non-learners has also been reported. The present study explored pre-training assessment indices that could predict learners prior to NF training. Methods: Twenty-two children with ADHD participated in slow cortical potential (SCP) NF training and completed pre- and post-training assessments. Participants were classified into learners or non-learners based on their progress in the SCP regulation, and pre-training indices that differentiate the two groups were examined by decision tree analysis. Results and Discussion: The learner rate in NF training was 45.5%. Learners were predicted by pre-training cognitive and neurophysiological measures regarding Stroop tasks, which suggested relatively intact executive function as their characteristics. Given that NF training is not universally effective for children with ADHD, further studies are necessary to establish application criteria.

Family resilience elements alleviate the relationship between maternal psychological distress and the severity of children’s developmental disorders

BACKGROUND Family resilience is the process through which family members withstand and rebound from adversity. AIMS In this study, we examined the effects of family resilience on the psychological distress of mothers of children with developmental disorders (DD). METHODS AND PROCEDURES A Family Resilience Elements Questionnaire was developed, which measured the degree to which mothers possess elements of family resilience. The participants were 274 mothers of children with DD. We performed a hierarchical multiple regression analysis to predict maternal psychological distress. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS The analysis revealed that maternal psychological distress was increased by higher severity of childrens DD and decreased by higher family resiliency. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between the severity of childrens DD and family resiliency, where family resiliency moderated the relationship between maternal psychological distress and the severity of childrens DD. Specifically, the slope predicting maternal psychological distress based on the severity of childrens DD was decreased by increasing family resiliency. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS These findings indicated that family resiliency reduced maternal psychological distress and alleviated the relationship between maternal psychological distress and severity of childrens DD. Thus, we suggest that clinicians need to take account of family resilience in interventions for children with DD and their mothers.

Applicability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (MABC-2) for Japanese Children Aged 3–6 Years: A Preliminary Investigation Emphasizing Internal Consistency and Factorial Validity

This study investigated the applicability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – Second Edition (MABC-2) for 3- to 6-year-old Japanese children, particularly addressing its internal consistency and factorial validity. The MABC-2 test set for 3- to 6-year-old children was administered to 252 children. Differences between Japanese children and those of the original normative sample (i.e. United Kingdom children) were investigated along with sex differences. The Japanese children aged 3–6 years were found to have higher Manual Dexterity and Balance component scores than children of the normative sample. Girls scored higher than boys on the Balance component. Results of several analyses showed good internal consistency of the MABC-2. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a theoretical three-component model of the MABC-2 was not fitted to Japanese children aged 3–6 years. Instead, a new three-component model was postulated and discussed. The new three-component model of the MABC-2, with Manual Dexterity, Static Balance and Ball Skills, and Dynamic Balance, has high factorial validity in Japanese children aged 3–6 years.