981 research outputs found
Cross-frequency phase-amplitude coupling as a mechanism for temporal orienting of attention in childhood
No full text Temporal orienting of attention operates by biasing the allocation of cognitive and motor resources in specific moments in time, resulting in the improved processing of information from expected compared with unexpected targets. Recent findings have shown that temporal orienting operates relatively early across development, suggesting that this attentional mechanism plays a core role for human cognition. However, the exact neurophysiological mechanisms allowing children to attune their attention over time are not well understood. In this study, we presented 8- to 12-year-old children with a temporal cueing task designed to test (1) whether anticipatory oscillatory dynamics predict children's behavioral performance on a trial-by-trial basis and (2) whether anticipatory oscillatory neural activity may be supported by cross-frequency phase–amplitude coupling as previously shown in adults. Crucially, we found that, similar to what has been reported in adults, children's ongoing beta rhythm was strongly coupled with their theta rhythm and that the strength of this coupling distinguished validly cued temporal intervals, relative to neutral cued trials. In addition, in long trials, there was an inverse correlation between oscillatory beta power and children's trial-by-trial reaction, consistent with oscillatory beta power reflecting better response preparation. These findings provide the first experimental evidence that temporal attention in children operates by exploiting oscillatory mechanism. </jats:p
Coherent motion evoked potentials in children
No full textIn this project we investigate coherent motion evoked potentials in children aged 6 to 12 years and adults.
Related manuscript:
'Neural dynamics underlying coherent motion perception in children and adults'
Catherine Manning, Blair Kaneshiro, Peter J. Kohler,
Mihaela Duta, Gaia Scerif, and Anthony M. Norci
sj-docx-1-ndy-10.1177_27546330241229004 - Supplemental material for ‘A storm of post-it notes’: Experiences of perceptual capacity in autism and ADHD
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-ndy-10.1177_27546330241229004 for ‘A storm of post-it notes’: Experiences of perceptual capacity in autism and ADHD by Brian Irvine, Freya Elise, Jana Brinkert, Daniel Poole, Emily K. Farran, Elizabeth Milne, Gaia Scerif, Laura Crane and Anna Remington in Neurodiversity</p
Executive function and pre-academic skills in preschoolers from South Africa
No full textBackground: While there is now considerable evidence in support of a relationship between executive function (EF) and academic success, these findings almost uniformly derive from Western and high-income countries. Yet, recent findings from low- to -middle-income countries have suggested that patterns of EF and academic skills differ in these contexts, but there is little clarity on the extent, direction and nature of their association.Aim: This study aimed to investigate the contribution of EF to pre-academic skills in a sample of preschool children (N = 124; Mage = 50.91 months; 45% female).Setting: Two preschools were recruited from an urban setting in a community with both formal and informal housing, overcrowding, high levels of crime and violence, and poor service delivery. Three preschools were recruited from rural communities with household plots, a slow rate of infrastructure development, reliance on open fires for cooking, limited access to running water and rudimentary sanitation.Methods: Pre-academic skills were assessed using the Herbst Early Childhood Development Criteria test, and EF was assessed using the Early Years Toolbox.Results: Although EF scores appeared high and pre-academic skills were low (in norm comparisons), EF inhibition (ß = 0.23, p = 0.001) and working memory (ß = 0.25, p < 0.001) nevertheless showed strong prediction of pre-academic skills while shifting was not significant.Conclusion: While EF is an important predictor of pre-academic skills even in this low- and middle-income country context, factors in addition to EF may be equally important targets to foster school readiness in these settings.Contribution: The current study represents a first step towards an understanding of the current strengths that can be leveraged, and opportunities for additional development, in the service of preparing all children for the demands of school
La strada maestra del Master
No full textIl volume raccoglie una serie di contributi sui temi e sui problemi dell’alta formazione nel settore nel campo della comunicazione, da parte di studiosi, docenti, professionisti, collaboratori e allievi, italiani e stranieri, del Master in Comunicazione e Media della Facoltà di Scienze Politiche “Cesare Alfieri” dell’Università degli Studi di Firenze. L’intervento di Gaia Peruzzi riflette sulle modalità formative e sul valore del suddetto master a partire dall’esperienza che l’autrice vi ha fatto, nella duplice veste prima di allieva, poi di collaboratrice alla progettazione e all’organizzazione didattica.The essay is a report on the educational value of the Masters in Communication and Media at the Faculty of Political Science "Cesare Alfieri" of the University of Florence, starting from the experience of the author, in the double role first as student, then as a collaborator to the planning and didactic organisation
Gaia Early Data Release 3: The celestial reference frame (Gaia-CRF3)
No full textContext. Gaia-CRF3 is the celestial reference frame for positions and proper motions in the third release of data from the Gaia mission, Gaia DR3 (and for the early third release, Gaia EDR3, which contains identical astrometric results). The reference frame isdefined by the positions and proper motions at epoch 2016.0 for a specific set of extragalactic sources in the (E)DR3 catalogue. Aims. We describe the construction of Gaia-CRF3 and its properties in terms of the distributions in magnitude, colour, and astrometricquality. Methods. Compact extragalactic sources in Gaia DR3 were identified by positional cross-matching with 17 external catalogues of quasi-stellar objects (QSO) and active galactic nuclei (AGN), followed by astrometric filtering designed to remove stellar contaminants. Selecting a clean sample was favoured over including a higher number of extragalactic sources. For the final sample, the random and systematic errors in the proper motions are analysed, as well as the radio–optical offsets in position for sources in the third realisation of the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF3). Results. Gaia-CRF3 comprises about 1.6 million QSO-like sources, of which 1.2 million have five-parameter astrometric solutions in Gaia DR3 and 0.4 million have six-parameter solutions. The sources span the magnitude range G = 13–21 with a peak density at 20.6 mag, at which the typical positional uncertainty is about 1 mas. The proper motions show systematic errors on the level of 12 μas yr−1 on angular scales greater than 15 deg. For the 3142 optical counterparts of ICRF3 sources in the S/X frequency bands, the median offset from the radio positions is about 0.5 mas, but it exceeds 4 mas in either coordinate for 127 sources. We outline the future of Gaia-CRF in the next Gaia data releases. Appendices give further details on the external catalogues used, how to extract information about the Gaia-CRF3 sources, potential (Galactic) confusion sources, and the estimation of the spin and orientation of an astrometric solution
Children with sex chromosome trisomies: parental disclosure of genetic status
No full textSex chromosome trisomies (SCTs) are frequently diagnosed, both prenatally and postnatally, but the highly variable childhood outcomes can leave parents at a loss on whether, when and how to disclose genetic status. In two complementary studies, we detail current parental practices, with a view to informing parents and their clinicians. Study 1 surveyed detailed qualitative data from focus groups of parents and affected young people with either Trisomy X or XYY (N=34 families). These data suggested that decisions to disclose were principally affected by the child’s level of cognitive, social and emotional functioning. Parents reported that they were more likely to disclose when a child was experiencing difficulties. In Study 2, standardised data on cognitive, social and emotional outcomes in 126 children with an SCT and 63 sibling controls highlighted results that converged with Study 1: logistic regression analyses revealed that children with the lowest levels of functioning were more likely to know about their SCT than those children functioning at a higher level. These effects were also reflected in the likelihood of parents to disclose to unaffected siblings, schools and general practitioners. In contrast, specific trisomy type and the professional category of the clinician providing the original diagnosis did not affect likelihood of disclosure. Our study emphasises the complex weighing up of costs and benefits that parents engage in when deciding whether to disclose a diagnosis
Things that make me special: A booklet for boys with XYY
No full text<p><em>You are welcome to download this free document. We are evaluating these materials and would love to have feedback from you - please tell us what you liked and what we could do better. Feedback can be sent via email to: Sarah Wynn [[email protected]].</em></p>
<p>This picture book is designed to accompany the booklet: "Information for parents who are considering whether to talk about an extra Y chromosome with their son and family members". It provides a simple explanation of how an extra chromosome can affect a child's development, but does not attempt to explain genetic mechanisms. </p>
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<p>If you would like a hard copy of either or both of these booklets, please contact Sarah Wynn at the email address above.</p>
<p>This work would not have been possible without the generous support of the Nuffield Foundation, and Unique. The research supporting this booklet was conducted at the University of Oxford and directed by Professor Dorothy Bishop and Professor Gaia Scerif.</p
What do Diana monkeys know about the focus of attention of a conspecific?
No full textConverging experimental and observational evidence suggests that some non-human primates are able to co-orient with shifts in visual attention, both of conspecifics and humans. However, the underlying cognitive mechanisms involved are unclear. To investigate attention-following in Diana monkeys (Cercopithecus diana diana), we used photographs of familiar conspecifics orienting towards one of two locations. A subject monkey was shown a photograph, and shortly afterwards a toy appeared at one location or the other. The toy’s position therefore either matched the location signalled by the head and body orientation of the photographed monkey (compatible), or was opposite to that location (incompatible). Overall, monkeys’ first inspections, total duration of looking, and number of looks were more likely to be directed to the compatible location, i.e. towards the direction of attention shown in the photograph. Furthermore, when a photograph of an adult monkey signalled attention to one location, but the toy appeared at the opposite (incompatible) location, subjects re-inspected the monkey photographs more often than when the toy appeared at the compatible location, suggesting a violation of expectancy. This effect was not the case if the photograph was of an immature animal. Our results show that attention-following was not limited to simple reflexive orienting by the monkeys, and that monkeys perceived a relationship existing between agent and object of attention.Postprin
Information for parents who are considering whether to talk about an extra Y chromosome with their son and family members
No full text<p><em>You are welcome to download this free document. We are evaluating these materials and would love to have feedback from you - please tell us what you liked and what we could do better. Feedback can be sent via email to: Sarah Wynn [[email protected]].</em></p>
<p>XYY may be discovered when a mother undergoes prenatal screening (amniocentesis or CVS), or after birth if a child has their chromosomes tested as part of a medical investigation. When an extra Y chromosome is discovered, parents have to decide whether to tell their son about this, and if so how to go about this. We found that this was an issue that concerned many parents but very little was known about how parents decide to tell their child or the process through which they do this.</p>
<p><br>On the basis of interviews with members of affected families, we developed a booklet for parents to help them consider these issues, as well as a companion picture book for children. If you would like a hard copy of either or both of these booklets, please contact Sarah Wynn at the email address above.</p>
<p><br>This work would not have been possible without the generous support of the Nuffield Foundation, and Unique. The research supporting this booklet was conducted at the University of Oxford and directed by Professor Dorothy Bishop and Professor Gaia Scerif.</p>
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