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Cognitive control in infancy: attentional predictors using a tablet-based measure

Cognitive control in infancy: attentional predictors using a tablet-based measure

McRae, Emma, Milosavljevic, Bosiljka, Katus, Laura, Mason, Luke, Perapoch Amadó, Marta, Rozhko, Maria, de Haan, Michelle, Elwell, Clare E, Moore, Sophie E and Lloyd-Fox, Sarah (2024) Cognitive control in infancy: attentional predictors using a tablet-based measure. Infancy. ISSN 1525-0008 (Print), 1532-7078 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/infa.12599)

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Abstract

Cognitive control is a predictor of later-life outcomes and may underpin higher order executive processes. The present study examines the development of early cognitive control during the first 24-months. We evaluated a tablet-based assessment of cognitive control among infants aged 18- and 24-months. We also examined concurrent and longitudinal associations between attentional disengagement, general cognitive skills and cognitive control. Participants (N=60, 30 female) completed the tablet-task at 18- and 24-months of age. Attentional disengagement and general cognitive development were assessed at 5-, 8-, 12-, 18- and 24-months using an eye-tracking measure and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), respectively. The cognitive control task demonstrated good internal consistency, sensitivity to age-related change in performance and stable individual differences. No associations were found between infant cognitive control and MSEL scores longitudinally or concurrently. The eye-tracking task revealed that slower attentional disengagement at 8-months, but faster disengagement at 18-months, predicted higher cognitive control scores at 24-months. This task may represent a useful tool for measuring emergent cognitive control. The multifaceted relationship between attention and infant cognitive control suggests that the rapid development of the attentional system in infancy results in distinct attentional skills, at different ages, being relevant for cognitive control development.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Rights retention statement: The corresponding author’s (Dr Bosiljka Milosavljevic) work was funded by UKRI grant ES/V016601/1. For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising. Furthermore, This work was supported, in whole or in part, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [Grant Numbers OPP1061089 and OPP1127625]. Under the grant conditions of the Foundation, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License has already been assigned to the Author Accepted Manuscript version that might arise from this submission.
Uncontrolled Keywords: infancy; cognitive control, executive functions; tablet task; cognitive development
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development > Centre for Thinking and Learning
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Last Modified: 03 Jun 2024 09:57
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/46888

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