Wetzel Nicole, Widmann Andreas, Schröger Erich
Institute of Psychology I, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Psychophysiology. 2009 May;46(3):607-16. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2009.00789.x. Epub 2009 Mar 4.
The study focused on the development of cognitive control of distraction. Novel sounds were interspersed in a sequence of a constant environmental sound, while subjects were engaged in a task not related to novelty. In both children (7-8 years) and adults, unpredictable novel sounds caused prolonged reaction times (RT), the P3a and the Reorienting Negativity (RON) components of the event-related potential, indicating distraction and reorienting of attention. With predictable novels, RT prolongation and RON-amplitude were reduced in both groups, whereas P3a-amplitude reduction was confined to adults. Thus, although children reveal some indication for control of distraction, they do not yet achieve the level of adults. This differential pattern of the development of RT prolongation, P3a, and RON across age groups indicates different maturation of processes involved in the control of distraction and suggests partly independent underlying processes.
该研究聚焦于分心认知控制的发展。在持续的环境声音序列中穿插新声音，同时让受试者从事与新奇性无关的任务。在儿童（7 - 8岁）和成人中，不可预测的新声音都会导致反应时间（RT）延长、事件相关电位的P3a和重新定向负波（RON）成分出现，这表明注意力分散和重新定向。对于可预测的新声音，两组的RT延长和RON振幅均降低，而P3a振幅降低仅见于成人。因此，尽管儿童表现出一些控制分心的迹象，但他们尚未达到成人的水平。这种跨年龄组的RT延长、P3a和RON发展的差异模式表明，分心控制所涉及的过程成熟度不同，并暗示存在部分独立的潜在过程。
