Common and specific impairments in attention functioning in girls with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion, fragile X or Turner syndromes.

Authors

Andrea I Quintero, MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis
Elliott A Beaton, Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans
Danielle J Harvey, Department of Public Health, Division of Biostatistics, University of California, Davis
Judith L. Ross, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Tony J Simon, MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-14-2014

Comments

This article is the final published version in Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Volume 6, Issue 1, March 2014, Article number 5.

The published version is available at DOI: 10.1186/1866-1955-6-5. Copyright © BioMed Central

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), fragile X syndrome (FXS), and Turner syndrome (TS) are complex and variable developmental syndromes caused by different genetic abnormalities; yet, they share similar cognitive impairments in the domains of numbers, space, and time. The atypical development of foundational neural networks that underpin the attentional system is thought to result in further impairments in higher-order cognitive functions. The current study investigates whether children with similar higher-order cognitive impairments but different genetic disorders also show similar impairments in alerting, orienting, and executive control of attention.

METHODS: Girls with 22q11.2DS, FXS, or TS and typically developing (TD) girls, aged 7 to 15 years, completed an attention network test, a flanker task with alerting and orienting cues. Exploration of reaction times and accuracy allowed us to test for potential commonalities in attentional functioning in alerting, orienting, and executive control. Linear regression models were used to test whether the predictors of group and chronological age were able to predict differences in attention indices.

RESULTS: Girls with 22q11.2DS, FXS, or TS demonstrated unimpaired function of the alerting system and impaired function of the executive control system. Diagnosis-specific impairments were found such that girls with FXS made more errors and had a reduced orienting index, while girls with 22q11.2DS showed specific age-related deficits in the executive control system.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the control but not the implementation of attention is selectively impaired in girls with 22q11.2DS, TS or FXS. Additionally, the age effect on executive control in girls with 22q11.2DS implies a possible altered developmental trajectory.

Recommended Citation

Quintero, Andrea I; Beaton, Elliott A; Harvey, Danielle J; Ross, Judith L.; and Simon, Tony J, "Common and specific impairments in attention functioning in girls with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion, fragile X or Turner syndromes." (2014). Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers. Paper 57.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/pedsfp/57

PubMed ID

24628892