Objective: This randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of attention training delivered in class on cognitive attention processes, inattention, hyperactivity, working memory, and numeracy in primary school children. Method: Eight classes (n = 98 children; 5-9 years) were cluster randomized to gamified attention training, a placebo program, or a no-contact control condition. Assessments were conducted at baseline, immediately after the 5-week intervention (posttraining), and 6 months later (follow-up). Results: Posttraining, attention training was associated with reduced inattention and hyperactivity within the classroom compared with controls, and reduced hyperactivity at home compared with the no-contact control. At follow-up, reduced hyperactivity within the classroom compared with the no-contact control persisted. No effects of training on cognitive attention processes, working memory, and numeracy were observed posttraining. Conclusion: Classroom-based attention training has select benefits in reducing inattention and hyperactivity, but may not promote gains in cognitive or academic skills in primary school children.
AllowayT. P. (2007). Automated Working Memory Assessment (AWMA). London, England: Harcourt Assessment.
2.
BallK.RossL. A.RothD. L.EdwardsJ. D. (2013). Speed of processing training in the ACTIVE study how much is needed and who benefits?Journal of Aging and Health, 25, 65-84.
3.
BamidisP. D.FisslerP.PapageorgiouS. G.ZilidouV.KonstantinidisE. I.BillisA. S.. . . KolassaI.-T. (2015). Gains in cognition through combined cognitive and physical training: The role of training dosage and severity of neurocognitive disorder. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 7, Article 152.
ConstantinoJ. N.GruberC. P. (2005). Social Responsiveness Scale. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
6.
de VriesM.VerdamM. G.PrinsP. J.SchmandB. A.GeurtsH. M. (2018). Exploring possible predictors and moderators of an executive function training for children with an autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 22, 440-449.
7.
DiamondA. (2013). Executive functions. In FiskeS. T. (Ed.), Annual review of psychology (Vol. 64, pp. 135-168). Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.
8.
FeingoldA. (2009). Effect sizes for growth-modeling analysis for controlled clinical trials in the same metric as for classical analysis. Psychological Methods, 14, 43-53.
9.
GinsburgH. P.BaroodyA. J. (2003). Test of Early Mathematics Ability (3rd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
10.
GomesL.LiveseyD. (2008). Exploring the link between impulsivity and peer relations in 5-and 6-year- old children. Child Care Health and Development, 34(6), 763-770.
11.
HallquistM. N.WileyJ. F. (2018). MplusAutomation: An R package for facilitating large-scale latent variable analyses in Mplus. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 25, 621-638.
12.
HolmesJ.GathercoleS. (2014). Taking working memory training from the laboratory into schools. Educational Psychology, 34, 440-450.
13.
JaeggiS. M.BuschkuehlM.ShahP.JonidesJ. (2014). The role of individual differences in cognitive training and transfer. Memory and Cognition, 42, 464-480.
14.
JohnsonK. A.RobertsonI. H.KellyS. P.SilkT. J.BarryE.DaibhisA.. . . BellgroveM. (2007). Dissociation in performance of children with ADHD and high-functioning autism on a task of sustained attention. Neuropsychologia, 45, 2234-2245.
15.
KaufmanA. S.KaufmanN. L. (2004). Review of Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, second edition. Bloomington, MN: Pearson.
16.
KirkH. E.GrayK.EllisK.TaffeJ.CornishK. M. (2016). Computerised attention training for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A randomised controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57, 1380-1389.
17.
KirkH. E.GrayK.EllisK.TaffeJ.CornishK. M. (2017). Impact of attention training on academic achievement, executive functioning and behavior problems in children with developmental disabilities: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 122, 97-117.
18.
KrayJ.KarbachJ.HaenigS.FreitagC. (2011). Can task-switching training enhance executive control functioning in children with attention deficit/-hyperactivity disorder?Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 5, Article 180.
19.
LaineM.FellmanD.WarisO.NymanT. J. (2018). The early effects of external and internal strategies on working memory updating training. Scientific Reports, 8(1), Article 4045.
20.
LandisT. D.HartK. C.GrazianoP. A. (2019). Targeting self-regulation and academic functioning among preschoolers with behavior problems: Are there incremental benefits to including cognitive training as part of a classroom curriculum?Child Neuropsychology, 25, 688-704.
21.
LövdénM.BrehmerY.LiS. C.LindenbergerU. (2012). Training-induced compensation versus magnification of individual differences in memory performance. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, Article 141.
22.
Mahurin-SmithJ.DeThorneL. S.PetrillS. A. (2017). Longitudinal associations across prematurity, attention, and language in school-age children. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 60, 3601-3608.
23.
ManlyT.AndersonV.CrawfordJ.GeorgeM.RobertsonI. H. (2017). Test of Everyday Attention for Children: Second edition. Melbourne, Australia: Pearson Australia.
24.
MaulikP. K.MascarenhasM. N.MathersC. D.DuaT.SaxenaS. (2011). Prevalence of intellectual disability: A meta-analysis of population-based studies. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32(2), 419-436.
25.
McClellandM. M.AcockA. C.PiccininA.RheaS. A.StallingsM. C. (2013). Relations between preschool attention span-persistence and age 25 educational outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28, 314-324.
26.
MoffittT. E.ArseneaultL.BelskyD.DicksonN.HancoxR. J.HarringtonH.. . . CaspiA. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(7), 2693-2698.
27.
OlesenP. J.WesterbergH.KlingbergT. (2004). Increased prefrontal and parietal activity after training of working memory. Nature Neuroscience, 7, 75-79.
28.
PetersenS. E.PosnerM. I. (2012). The attention system of the human brain: 20 years after. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 35, 73-89.
29.
PolanczykG.de LimaM. S.HortaB. L.BiedermanJ.RohdeL. A. (2007). The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: A systematic review and metaregression analysis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 942-948.
30.
PondeM. P.Cruz-FreireA. C.SilveiraA. A. (2012). Relationship Between Learning Problems and Attention Deficit in Childhood. Journal of Attention Disorders, 16(6), 505-509.
31.
PosnerM. I.PetersenS. E. (1990). The attention system of the human brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 13, 25-42.
32.
RabinerD. L.MurrayD. W.SkinnerA. T.MaloneP. S. (2010). A randomized trial of two promising computer-based interventions for students with attention difficulties. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 131-142.
33.
R Development Core Team. (2012). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
34.
RedickT. S.ShipsteadZ.WiemersE. A.Melby-LervagM.HulmeC. (2015). What’s working in working memory training? An educational perspective. Educational Psychology Reviews, 27, 617-633.
35.
RuedaM. R.ChecaP.CombitaL. (2012). Enhanced efficiency of the executive attention network after training in preschool children: Immediate changes and effects after two months. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 25, 192-204.
36.
ScerifG.CornishK.WildingJ.DriverJ.Karmiloff-SmithA. (2004). Visual search in typically developing toddlers and toddlers with Fragile X or Williams syndrome. Developmental Science, 7, 116-130.
37.
SchulzK. F.GrimesD. A. (2002). Sample size slippages in randomised trials: Exclusions and the lost and wayward. Lancet, 359, 781-785.
38.
ShalevL.TsalY.MevorachC. (2007). Computerized progressive attentional training (CPAT) program: Effective direct intervention for children with ADHD. Child Neuropsychology, 13, 382-388.
39.
SimmonsJ. P.NelsonL. D.SimonsohnU. (2011). False-positive psychology: Undisclosed flexibility in data collection and analysis allows presenting anything as significant. Psychological Science, 22, 1359-1366.
40.
SimonsD. J.BootW. R.CharnessN.GathercoleS. E.ChabrisC. F.HambrickD. Z.Sinte-MorrowE. A. (2016). Do “brain-training” programs work?Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17, 103-186.
41.
SimsD. M.LoniganC. J. (2013). Inattention, hyperactivity, and emergent literacy: Different facets of inattention relate uniquely to preschoolers’ reading-related skills. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 42, 208-219.
42.
SteeleA.Karmiloff-SmithA.CornishK.ScerifG. (2012). The multiple subfunctions of attention: Differential developmental gateways to literacy and numeracy. Child Development, 83, 2028-2041.
43.
SteinerN. J.SheldrickR. C.GotthelfD.PerrinE. C. (2011). Computer-based attention training in the schools for children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A preliminary trial. Clinical Pediatrics, 50, 615-622.
44.
SwansonJ.SchuckS.PorterM. M.CarlsonC.HartmanC. A.SergeantJ. A.. . . WigalT. (2012). Categorical and dimensional definitions and evaluations of symptoms of ADHD: History of the SNAP and the SWAN Rating Scales. International Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment, 10, 51-70.
45.
TammL.EpsteinJ. N.PeughJ. L.NakoneznyP. A.HughesC. W. (2013). Preliminary data suggesting the efficacy of attention training for school-aged children with ADHD. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 4, 16-28.
46.
WolfD.TüscherO.TeipelS.MierauA.StrüderH.DrzezgaA., . . . The German AgeGain Study Group. (2018). Mechanisms and modulators of cognitive training gain transfer in cognitively healthy aging: Study protocol of the AgeGain study. Trials, 19(1), Article 337.
47.
ZinkeK.NoackH.BornJ. (2018). Sleep augments training-induced improvement in working memory in children and adults. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 147, 46-53.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
