Pupillometry as a Window into Young Children’s Sustained Attention
Sustained attention is critical to cognition, social competence, and academic success. Importantly, sustained attention undergoes significant development over the early childhood period. Yet, how sustained attention fluctuates over time on task has not been clearly outlined, particularly in young ch...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Intelligence |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/10/4/107 |
| _version_ | 1797456917027618816 |
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| author | Viridiana L. Benitez Matthew K. Robison |
| author_facet | Viridiana L. Benitez Matthew K. Robison |
| author_sort | Viridiana L. Benitez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sustained attention is critical to cognition, social competence, and academic success. Importantly, sustained attention undergoes significant development over the early childhood period. Yet, how sustained attention fluctuates over time on task has not been clearly outlined, particularly in young children. In this study, we provide a first test of whether the pupillary response can be used as an indicator of moment-to-moment sustained attention over time on task in young children. Children aged 5 to 7 years (<i>N</i> = 41) completed a psychomotor vigilance task, where they were asked to press a button as fast as possible at the onset of a target stimulus. We measured reaction times over the course of the task, pupil size prior to target onset (baseline pupil size), and pupil size in response to target onset (task-evoked pupil size). The results showed a stereotypical vigilance decrement in children’s response times: as time on task increased, reaction times increased. Critically, children’s task-evoked pupil size decreased over time on task, while no such change was present in baseline pupil size. These results suggest that young children’s waning sustained attention may be linked to a decrease in alertness while overall arousal is maintained. We discuss the importance of leveraging pupillometry to understand the mechanisms of sustained attention over individuals and development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:14:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3c2a9e9dbb504d1f9dbed06cdf42e441 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-3200 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:14:44Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Intelligence |
| spelling | doaj.art-3c2a9e9dbb504d1f9dbed06cdf42e4412023-11-24T15:52:56ZengMDPI AGJournal of Intelligence2079-32002022-11-0110410710.3390/jintelligence10040107Pupillometry as a Window into Young Children’s Sustained AttentionViridiana L. Benitez0Matthew K. Robison1Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USASustained attention is critical to cognition, social competence, and academic success. Importantly, sustained attention undergoes significant development over the early childhood period. Yet, how sustained attention fluctuates over time on task has not been clearly outlined, particularly in young children. In this study, we provide a first test of whether the pupillary response can be used as an indicator of moment-to-moment sustained attention over time on task in young children. Children aged 5 to 7 years (<i>N</i> = 41) completed a psychomotor vigilance task, where they were asked to press a button as fast as possible at the onset of a target stimulus. We measured reaction times over the course of the task, pupil size prior to target onset (baseline pupil size), and pupil size in response to target onset (task-evoked pupil size). The results showed a stereotypical vigilance decrement in children’s response times: as time on task increased, reaction times increased. Critically, children’s task-evoked pupil size decreased over time on task, while no such change was present in baseline pupil size. These results suggest that young children’s waning sustained attention may be linked to a decrease in alertness while overall arousal is maintained. We discuss the importance of leveraging pupillometry to understand the mechanisms of sustained attention over individuals and development.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/10/4/107sustained attentionvigilancepupillometrychildrendevelopment |
| spellingShingle | Viridiana L. Benitez Matthew K. Robison Pupillometry as a Window into Young Children’s Sustained Attention Journal of Intelligence sustained attention vigilance pupillometry children development |
| title | Pupillometry as a Window into Young Children’s Sustained Attention |
| title_full | Pupillometry as a Window into Young Children’s Sustained Attention |
| title_fullStr | Pupillometry as a Window into Young Children’s Sustained Attention |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pupillometry as a Window into Young Children’s Sustained Attention |
| title_short | Pupillometry as a Window into Young Children’s Sustained Attention |
| title_sort | pupillometry as a window into young children s sustained attention |
| topic | sustained attention vigilance pupillometry children development |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/10/4/107 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT viridianalbenitez pupillometryasawindowintoyoungchildrenssustainedattention AT matthewkrobison pupillometryasawindowintoyoungchildrenssustainedattention |