Tactile extinction on complex stimulation in normal children.
The Schwartz Quality Extinction Test was administered to 221 normal right-handed children aged 4 to 7 years to find out at what age their ability to perceive complex bimanual simultaneous stimuli stabilizes. Tactile extinction was present in some 4- and 5-yr.-old children and tended to disappear later. We found a significant difference in responses between 5- and 6-yr.-old children but no difference regarding side and sex at different ages. Among the principal theories regarding the pathogenesis of extinction, incomplete maturation of attentional mechanisms seems the one which better explains extinction in younger children.
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Istituto di Neuropsichiatria Infantile, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italia.
D000367:Age Factors; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral; D005108:Extinction, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013236:Stereognosis; D014110:Touch