Use the distinct maturational timelines to guide monitoring of adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 5 claims (5 for) · 3 studies (2 causal, 1 review), q2–q3 · 2 of 3 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article draws clinical implications from its two distinct maturational trajectories. Because sustained attention processes mature protractedly through adolescence, the authors stress "the importance of continued monitoring of teenagers with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder". Conversely, because prediction abilities appear mature by age 12, the finding "highlights the importance of early diagnosis and intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorder", which is associated with difficulties in predictive processing.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Awareness of which function (sustained attention versus prediction) is impaired, since the two follow different developmental timelines

Constraints¶

• Derived from a study of typically developing volunteers with a male-biased gender distribution

Target Learners¶

• adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder

Target Learning Goals¶

• sustained attention
• predictive processing

Affordances¶

• Distinct Maturation Trajectories Attention Prediction

Claims¶

• Reaction-time benefit from predictive context is similar across ages 12–24, suggesting mature prediction abilities by age 12 [+W]
• Sustained attention performance (hits, false alarms, and sensitivity d′) continues to improve after age 12 through early adulthood [+W]
• Cognitive flexibility develops protractedly: sharp increase between 7 and 9 years, largely mature by age 10, peaking between 21 and 30 [+W]
• Predictability enhances P3 amplitude, CNV amplitude, and shortens target-P3 latency equally at all ages, indexing mature prediction encoding, preparation, and implementation [+W]
• CNV and P3 scalp topographies show a frontal shift with increasing age during adolescence [+W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Thillay A, Roux S, Gissot V, Carteau-Martin I, Knight RT, Bonnet-Brilhault F and Bidet-Caulet A (2015) Sustained attention and prediction: distinct brain maturation trajectories during adolescence. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 9:519. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00519