Xiaoju Duan

Response inhibition in adolescent earthquake survivors with and without posttraumatic stress disorder: A combined behavioral and ERP study

The aim of this study was to investigate whether adolescent patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) show an impairment of executive control in a response inhibition task and to investigate its neurophysiological correlates using event-related potentials (ERPs). We analyzed data from 25 Wenchuan earthquake survivors between 15 and 19 years of age (16 diagnosed with PTSD) using a Go/NoGo task. The PTSD group made more commission errors than the non-PTSD group, indicating impairment in response inhibition. The PTSD group responded faster to Go trials and there was a significant negative correlation between their reaction time and commission/omission errors, reflecting a speed-accuracy tradeoff for the PTSD group. The PTSD group exhibited a shorter NoGo-N2 latency than the non-PTSD group, suggesting faster monitoring or detection of the response conflict. These results suggest that the impairment of response inhibition in adolescent participants with PTSD is related to their impulsive cognitive functioning.

Electrophysiological correlates for response inhibition in intellectually gifted children: A Go/NoGo study

Superior response inhibition is an essential component of the advanced cognitive abilities of gifted children. This study investigated response inhibition in intellectually gifted children by recording event-related brain potentials (ERPs) during a Go/NoGo task. Fifteen intellectually gifted children and 15 intellectually average children participated. Our present findings showed that intellectually gifted children had shorter Go-P3 latency, indicating faster processing of Go stimuli, a finding consistent with previous studies. We focused on the two inhibition-related components, NoGo-N2 and NoGo-P3. The results showed that NoGo-P3 latency was shorter for intellectually gifted children compared to their average peers. N2 latency did not indicate the intelligence difference. These results suggested that intellectually gifted children showed faster inhibition when dealing with NoGo stimuli, and this superiority came from the later stages of inhibition, i.e., response evaluation or the success of inhibiting a response, as indexed by the shorter P3 latency.

Developmental Changes in Processing Speed: Influence of Accelerated Education for Gifted Children

There are two major hypotheses concerning the developmental trends of processing speeds. These hypotheses explore both local and global trends. The study presented here investigates the effects of people’s different knowledge on the speed with which they are able to process information. The participants in this study are gifted children aged 9, 11, and 13 years. A total of 94 of the participants were members of gifted programs, whereas the other 93 children received standard education. They were required to finish two information-processing tasks: a Choice Reaction Time task and an Abstract Matching task. The results show that the reaction time of gifted children who received accelerated education in gifted programs was significantly faster than that of the children who received standard education at every age. These results seem to imply that the educational atmosphere in which a child is placed plays a significant role in the development of gifted children’s speed of information processing. Putting the Research to Use This study serves to demonstrate that experience and knowledge may influence the development of information processing speed. It appears that specialized education for gifted children can actually accelerate development, suggesting that selection of educational system is of particular significance, especially for gifted children. Gifted children can study more quickly than average children because they have a higher speed of information processing. The efficacy of their study results in greater transmission of knowledge, and this in turn accelerates gifted children’s information processing speed. Accelerated education can not only satisfy the cognitive need of gifted children but also serve to enhance their cognitive development. Teachers and parents have to recognize that education is very important to children’s development and address the importance of experience in gifted children’s learning. The results of the present study also suggest a need for a special education system designed for gifted children, which can be viewed as a great investment in the future.There are two major hypotheses concerning the developmental trends of processing speeds. These hypotheses explore both local and global trends. The study presented here investigates the effects of peoples different knowledge on the speed with which they are able to process information. The participants in this study are gifted children aged 9, 11, and 13 years. A total of 94 of the participants were members of gifted programs, whereas the other 93 children received standard education. They were required to finish two information-processing tasks: a Choice Reaction Time task and an Abstract Matching task. The results show that the reaction time of gifted children who received accelerated education in gifted programs was significantly faster than that of the children who received standard education at every age. These results seem to imply that the educational atmosphere in which a child is placed plays a significant role in the development of gifted childrens speed of information processing.

The speed of information processing of 9- to 13-year-old intellectually gifted children.

In general, intellectually gifted children perform better than non-gifted children across many domains. The present validation study investigated the speed with which intellectually gifted children process information. 184 children, ages 9 to 13 years old (91 gifted, M age = 10.9 yr., SD = 1.8; 93 non-gifted children, M age = 11.0 yr., SD = 1.7) were tested individually on three information processing tasks: an inspection time task, a choice reaction time task, an abstract matching task. Intellectually gifted children outperformed their non-gifted peers on all three tasks obtaining shorter reaction time and doing so with greater accuracy. The findings supported the validity of the information processing speed in identifying intellectually gifted children.

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms of Chinese Rural Children and Adolescents Surviving the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake Assessed Using CRIES

Posttraumatic stress symptoms in Chinese rural children and adolescents were examined after the May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Analysis showed that three factors were identified, namely, avoidance, intrusion, and arousal, resembling those in the studies with Western samples. Gender differences in posttraumatic stress symptoms were not significant. Moderate negative correlation coefficients between posttraumatic stress symptom scores and mental health scores were found, indicating that the more severe the posttraumatic stress symptoms, the worse the persons mental health.

ATTENTIONAL SWITCHING IN INTELLECTUALLY GIFTED AND AVERAGE CHILDREN: EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE AND ERP

The study compared the performance and brain activity of children who were intellectually gifted or of average intelligence. 13 intellectually gifted (4 girls, 9 boys; M age = 12.0 yr., SD = 0.2) and 13 average children (5 girls, 8 boys; M age = 11.9 yr., SD = 0.3) participated in a task-switching experiment. The children performed a task repeatedly (single-trial blocks) or switched between two different tasks (mixed-trial blocks). Intellectually gifted children performed quicker than the average group for both mixed and single-trial blocks. The electroencephalography P300 amplitude was larger in the mixed compared to the single-trial condition, but this effect was observed only in the gifted children. The results support the notion that gifted children are characterized by a faster maturation that leads to an ‘adultlike’ brain activity.

Improved Neural Efficiency under Matching Condition for Gifted Children

To investigate the neural efficiency theory of intelligence, electroencephalograms (EEG) were recorded while 15 intellectually gifted children and 15 average children performed a 2-back working memory task. The amplitude of P2, N2, and LPC were analyzed. The results showed that intellectually gifted children performed more accurately and had larger LPC mean amplitudes than their intellectually average peers under the matching condition, suggesting that intellectually gifted individual can use their brain and allocate cognitive resources more efficiently.

Neural Mechanisms of 1-Back Working Memory in Intellectually Gifted Children

To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying intellectually gifted children, electroencephalograms (EEG) were recorded while 13 intellectually gifted children and 13 average children accomplished a 1-back working memory task. The results showed that intellectually gifted children elicited significantly shorter P3 latency than their intellectually average peers. These results support the neural efficiency theory that intellectually gifted individual can use their brain more efficiently.