title: Relationship between cognitive function and prevalence of decrease in intrinsic academic motivation in adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Decrease in intrinsic motivation is a common complaint among elementary and junior high school students, and is related to poor academic performance. Since grade-dependent development of cognitive functions also influences academic performance by these students, we examined whether cognitive functions are related to the prevalence of decrease in intrinsic academic motivation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group consisted of 134 elementary school students from 4th to 6th grades and 133 junior high school students from 7th to 9th grades. Participants completed a questionnaire on intrinsic academic motivation. They also performed paper-and-pencil and computerized cognitive tests to measure abilities in motor processing, spatial construction, semantic fluency, immediate memory, short-term memory, delayed memory, spatial working memory, and selective, alternative, and divided attention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for grade and gender, scores of none of the cognitive tests were correlated with the prevalence of decrease in intrinsic academic motivation in elementary school students. However, low digit span forward test score and score for comprehension of the story in the kana pick-out test were positively correlated with the prevalence of decrease in intrinsic academic motivation in junior high school students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings suggest that decrease in capacity for verbal memory is associated with the prevalence of decrease in intrinsic academic motivation among junior high school students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan. keimizuno@riken.jp
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Sanae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imai-Matsumura
authors.forename: Yasuyoshi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*