Influence of Training Attention in Early Childhood on Schooling

根据之前的一项拨款，我们(包括大卫·沃什伯恩)调整了培训方法， 兰博和沃什伯恩(1995)开发了训练猴子的方法，供NASA与幼猴一起使用 儿童(Rueda等人，2005,2007)。我们发现这些方法成功地改善了 基本高管注意网络的效率和培训远远超出范围 为提高儿童智商而进行的具体培训领域。自那以后，这些发现一直是 在对正常儿童的研究中复制和扩展(Rueda等人，正在进行中)，并已 已被应用于ADHD(Tamm等人，在出版社)和自闭症(Ozonoff等人，在 过程)。来自其他小组的发现也表明了课堂的有效性 训练注意力的干预(戴蒙德等人，2007年；范宁等人，2007年)。虽然 课堂方法对于注意力训练的实际应用很重要，我们的方法有 在关键技能方面表现出快速改进的优势，详细说明如下 电脑程序。Checa等人。(2008)也表明了行政效率 注意力可以预测中学生在学校表现的重要方面。 当前研究的一个重要方面是识别与以下因素有关的注意网络 儿童和成人调节他们思想和情感的能力(波斯纳和罗斯巴特， 2007)。自我调节是发展心理学的核心概念。了解ITS 神经基础提供了一个重要的研究问题，并对理解 注意力训练是提高部分或全部学业成绩的有效方法 学龄前儿童。 我们目前的纵向研究开始于孩子7个月大的时候，他们 2008年夏天，在大约3.5岁的时候完工。我们将会观察到这些 儿童的注意力在3年内的发展，他们现在是适当的 注意力训练的年龄。我们的纵向研究结果表明，个体 气质和基因的差异与执行者的发展有关 注意网络和行为。这个小组提供了一个独特的机会来研究如何 受过训练的儿童在入学初期会有不同的注意力发展和表现。 来自处于可控状态的儿童。文献为可能的人提供了鼓励 这项事业的成功(Blair&Raza，2007)。我们认识到，其他团体已经并将 继续这一提议的各个方面(Blair&Raza，2007；Diamond等人，2007)，但我们的研究 有两个好处。首先，我们的培训方法很明确，也可以与 动物模型，和两个，我们已经确定了改进的神经基础，包括一些 可能涉及的基因。这似乎是一个独特的机会，可以确定如何 注意力及其训练影响着学校教育的关键方面。

Under a previous grant that we (including David Washburn) adapted the training methods that Rumbaugh and Washburn (1995) had developed to train monkeys for NASA to use with young children (Rueda et al., 2005, 2007). We found these methods to be successful in improving the efficiency of the underlying executive attention network and the training generalized far beyond the specific domain of training to improve the childrens' IQ. These findings have since been replicated and extended in studies with normal children (Rueda et al., in process) and have been applied in clinical studies of ADHD (Tamm et al., in press) and Autism (Ozonoff et al., in process). Findings from other groups have also shown the effectiveness of classroom interventions in training attention (Diamond et al., 2007; Fanning et al., 2007). Although classroom methods are important for practical applications of attention training, our method has the advantage of demonstrating rapid improvement in key skills, which are specified in detail by the computer programs. Checa et al. (2008) have also shown that the efficiency of executive attention predicts important aspects of school performance in middle school children. An important aspect of current research is the identification of an attentional network related to the ability of children and adults to regulate their thoughts and feelings (Posner & Rothbart, 2007). Self regulation is a central concept in developmental psychology. Understanding its neural basis provides an important research question and is critical to understanding whether training in attention can be an effective method for improving school performance in some or all preschool children. Our current longitudinal study began when the children were 7 months old and they were completed at about age 3.5 years in the summer of 2008. We will have observed these children's development of attention over a 3 year period, and they are now of an appropriate age for attention training. Results from our longitudinal study showed how individual differences in temperament and genes were related to the development of the executive attention network and behavior. This group provides a unique opportunity to examine how trained children will differ in attentional development and performance in the early school years from children in a control condition. The literature provides encouragement for the likely success of this enterprise (Blair & Raza, 2007). We recognize that other groups have and will pursue aspects of this proposal (Blair & Raza, 2007; Diamond et al., 2007), but our research has two advantages. One, our training methods are well specified and can also be used with animal models, and two, we have identified the neural basis for improvement, including some of the genes likely to be involved. It appears to be a unique opportunity to determine how attention and its training influence critical aspects of schooling.