title: Developmental trajectories for attention and working memory in healthy Japanese school-aged children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the developmental trajectories of attention, short-term memory, and working memory in school-aged children using a 10 min test battery of cognitive function.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants comprised 144 typically developing children (TDC) aged 7-12 years and 24 healthy adults, divided according to age into seven groups (12 males and 12 females for each age group). Participants were assessed using CogHealth, which is a computer-based measure composed of five tasks. We measured attention, short-term memory, and working memory (WM) with visual stimulation. Each task was analyzed for age-related differences in reaction time and accuracy rate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Attention tasks were faster in stages from the age of 7-10 years. Accuracy rate of short-term memory gradually increased from 12 years of age and suddenly increased and continued to increase at 22 years of age. Accuracy rate of working memory increased until 12 years of age. Correlations were found between the ages and reaction time, and between ages and accuracy rate of the tasks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that there were rapid improvements in attention, short-term memory, and WM performance between 7 and 10 years of age followed by gradual improvement until 12 years of age. Increase in short-term memory continued until 22 years of age. In our experience CogHealth was an easy and useful measure for the evaluation of cognitive function in school-age children.
authors: Department of Nursing, Fukuoka Prefectural University, Japan.
authors: Chiyomi
authors: C
authors: Egami
authors: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan; NPO Kurume STP, Japan; Cognitive and Molecular Research Institute of Brain Diseases, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan. Electronic address: yushiro@med.kurume-u.ac.jp.
authors: Yushiro
authors: Y
authors: Yamashita
authors: NPO Kurume STP, Japan.
authors: Yasuhiro
authors: Y
authors: Tada
authors: NPO Kurume STP, Japan.
authors: Chiduru
authors: C
authors: Anai
authors: NPO Kurume STP, Japan.
authors: Akiko
authors: A
authors: Mukasa
authors: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors: Kotaro
authors: K
authors: Yuge
authors: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors: Shinichiro
authors: S
authors: Nagamitsu
authors: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan; NPO Kurume STP, Japan; Cognitive and Molecular Research Institute of Brain Diseases, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors: Toyojiro
authors: T
authors: Matsuishi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attention; Developmental trajectories; Short-term memory; Typically developing children; Working memory