Space-based inhibition of return in children with spina bifida.
Inhibition of return (IOR) refers to an increase in time to react to a target in a previously attended location. Children with spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) and hydrocephalus have congenital dysmorphology of the midbrain, a brain region associated with the control of covert orienting in general and with IOR in particular. The authors studied exogenously cued covert orienting in 8- to 19-year-old children and adolescents (84 with SBM and 37 age-matched, typically developing controls). The exogenous cue was a luminance change in a peripheral box that was 50% valid for the upcoming target location. Compared with controls, children with SBM showed attenuated IOR in the vertical plane, a deficit that was associated with midbrain dysmorphology in the form of tectal beaking but not with posterior brain volume loss. The data add to the emerging evidence for SBM deficits in attentional orienting to salient information.
Dennis
Maureen
M
Brain and Behaviour Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada. maureen.dennis@sickkids.ca.
Edelstein
Kim
K
Copeland
Kim
K
Frederick
Jon A
JA
Francis
David J
DJ
Hetherington
Ross
R
Blaser
Susan E
SE
Kramer
Larry A
LA
Drake
James M
JM
Brandt
Michael E
ME
Fletcher
Jack M
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*