Rett syndrome: an eye-tracking study of attention and recognition memory.
Dev Med Child Neurol
; 55(4): 364-71, 2013 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23488948
ABSTRACT
AIM:
The aim of this study was to examine attention and recognition memory for faces and patterns in Rett syndrome, a severely disabling neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in the X-linked MECP2 gene.METHOD:
Because Rett syndrome impairs speech and hand use, precluding most neuropsychological testing, the visual paired-comparison paradigm (VPC) was used, together with eye tracking. In the VPC, two identical stimuli are presented for familiarization. On test, the familiar stimulus and a new one are paired, and recognition inferred from preferential looking to the novel target. Attention is measured by looking time, gaze dispersion, and number/length of fixations. Twenty-seven female patients with Rett syndrome (mean age 10y 6mo; SD 6y 8mo, age range 2-22y) from the Rett clinic at a children's hospital were assessed in this study, along with 30 age- and sex-matched typically developing participants (outpatients from the same hospital).RESULTS:
Although patients with Rett syndrome showed recognition of both faces and patterns, with novelty scores greater than chance (50%), their performance was significantly poorer than that of the typically developing comparison group. Their attention to both was less mature and marked by a more narrowly focused gaze, with fewer and longer fixations. When inspecting faces, attention to the eyes was similar in both groups; however, patients with Rett syndrome tended to ignore the nose and mouth.INTERPRETATION:
This is one of the first studies to characterize attention and memory in individuals with Rett syndrome. Visually based techniques, such as the VPC, open a new avenue for quantifying the cognitive phenotype associated with this syndrome.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Atenção
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Síndrome de Rett
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Reconhecimento Psicológico
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Proteína 2 de Ligação a Metil-CpG
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Movimentos Oculares
/
Mutação
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Testes Neuropsicológicos
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Dev Med Child Neurol
Ano de publicação:
2013
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos