Desenvolvimento de funções executivas em crianças sem domínio da linguagem escrita e relação com desatenção e hiperatividade / Development of executive functions in children without written language and relationship with inattention and hyperactivity

AUTOR(ES)
FONTE

IBICT - Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia

DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

25/08/2011

RESUMO

Executive functions refer to the skills needed to plan, initiate, implement and monitor intentional conduct related to an objective or environmental demands and allows to the subject guide behaviors to as objetive. Include inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, selective attention, planning and organization. Executive functions develop during childhood and deficits are related to various disorders that affect children and adolescents, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADHD. To investigate this relation, specially in early childhood, this study examined the relationship between executive functions and development of children 4 and 6 years and their relationship with signs of inattention and hyperactivity. It was assessed 85 children attended a public school for kindergarten and elementary school of São Paulo. To assess executive functions were used Trial Making Test (TMT), Cancellation Attention Test (CAT) and Semantic Stroop Test. The Swanson, Nolan e Pelham Questionaire SNAP IV, Brazilian version, was answered by parents and teachers to assess inattention and hyperactivity. Mann-Whitney tests revealed grade effect for TMT (execution time in part B), CAT (scores in parts 1, 2 and 3, and errors in part 3), and Semantic Stroop Test (reaction time in part B). Kruskal-Wallis analysis revealed age effect of TMT (execution time in Part B), CAT (scores in parts 1 and 3, and errors in parts 1 and 2) and Semantic Stroop Test (reaction time in parts A, B and interference). There were also several significant correlations between performances on different tests and between executive performance and parents and teachers reporting of inattention and hyperactivity signs, specially between teachers reports and TMT, CAT and Stroop. Thus, this study corroborated theory about the development of executive functions and their relations with signs of inattention and hyperactivity, extending these assumptions for children at very early age.

ASSUNTO(S)

child development funções executivas desenvolvimento infantil neuropsychological assessment executive functions avaliação neuropsicológica psicologia cognitiva

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