Characteristics of continuous attention to visual and auditory channels of children aged 12-14 years: An ERP study

Yu, Bingbing; Wang, Enguo · 2022 · Crossref

DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1890000/v1

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Summary

This study investigates the neural mechanisms and behavioral characteristics of sustained attention in visual and auditory channels among children aged 12 to 14 years. Sustained attention is critical for cognitive processes such as reading and calculation, yet the specific differences in how adolescents process sustained attention across sensory modalities remain unclear. The research aims to determine whether visual and auditory channels differ in processing time, cognitive resource allocation, and sustained attention capacity during this developmental period. The researchers employed an Event-Related Potential (ERP) methodology using the Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) paradigm. Twenty healthy, right-handed junior high school students participated in two experiments: one using auditory stimuli (1000 Hz warning signal S1 and 2000 Hz command signal S2) and another using visual stimuli (yellow picture S1 and red picture S2). In both tasks, participants prepared a response to S1 and executed a key press upon S2 presentation, with a 1500 ms interval between signals. EEG data were recorded using a 32-channel system, focusing on the late component of the CNV (LCNV) as an indicator of sustained attention. Data from 18 valid subjects were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA to compare reaction times, accuracy, and ERP waveforms across frontal, central, and parietal regions. Behavioral results indicated that reaction times for the auditory channel were significantly faster than those for the visual channel, although accuracy rates did not differ significantly between the two. ERP analysis revealed distinct neural patterns. The P300 amplitude was significantly greater in the visual channel compared to the auditory channel, suggesting that visual processing requires the allocation of more cognitive resources. Conversely, the average wave amplitude of the LCNV was significantly larger in the auditory channel across midline electrodes (Fz, Cz, Pz). Since LCNV amplitude correlates with sustained attention capacity, this finding indicates that the auditory channel exhibits superior sustained attention capabilities compared to the visual channel in this age group. The study concludes that while the basic temporal processing stages of sustained attention are similar across modalities, there are significant functional differences. The visual channel demands greater cognitive resources, as evidenced by higher P300 amplitudes and slower reaction times, whereas the auditory channel demonstrates a stronger capacity for maintaining sustained attention, reflected in higher LCNV amplitudes. These findings highlight modality-specific differences in adolescent attentional mechanisms, suggesting that auditory tasks may be less cognitively taxing for sustained vigilance than visual tasks in children aged 12–14. The authors note that future research should explore these mechanisms across different age groups and with higher spatial resolution to further elucidate the neural bases of sustained attention.

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