Department of Design, Graduate School of Design, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
School for Children with Intellectual Disabilities, Tokyo Gakugei University, Tokyo, Japan.
J Intellect Disabil Res. 2022 Nov;66(11):853-864. doi: 10.1111/jir.12974. Epub 2022 Sep 6.
Shifting enables flexible switch between tasks or mental sets. It is a component of the executive function that plays critical roles in human behaviour control. However, shifting ability in individuals with intellectual disability (ID) has not been well clarified because of the use of intellectually demanding tasks in previous studies. The present study invented a novel shifting task with minimal intellectual demands and aimed to clarify the characteristics of shifting in adolescents with ID.
Adolescents with ID (n = 21) and chronological-age-matched (n = 10) and mental-age-matched controls (n = 33) performed a novel shifting task with simple rule switching (i.e. change in direction). Analyses focused on the switch cost or the increase in the reaction time associated with rule switching.
Two subtypes of adolescents with ID were found with respect to the switch cost: one that lacks it and another with an increased switch cost. The lack of a switch cost was unique to the subgroup adolescents with ID and was not indicated in the control group.
The present study indicated that shifting in adolescents with ID does not depend solely on their intellectual function and is highly heterogeneous. This finding further implies that executive functions, including shifting, must be evaluated separately from their intellectual functions.
转换能力使人们能够灵活地在任务或思维模式之间切换。它是执行功能的一个组成部分，在人类行为控制中起着关键作用。然而，由于之前的研究中使用了需要智力的任务，因此智力障碍（ID）个体的转换能力尚未得到很好的阐明。本研究发明了一种新的转换任务，对智力的要求最低，旨在阐明 ID 青少年的转换特征。
21 名 ID 青少年（n=21）和年龄匹配的（n=10）和智力年龄匹配的对照组（n=33）完成了一项具有简单规则转换（即方向改变）的新转换任务。分析集中在转换成本或与规则转换相关的反应时间增加上。
在转换成本方面，发现 ID 青少年有两种亚组：一种缺乏转换成本，另一种具有增加的转换成本。缺乏转换成本是 ID 青少年亚组特有的，对照组没有显示。
本研究表明，ID 青少年的转换能力不仅仅取决于他们的智力功能，而且具有高度的异质性。这一发现进一步表明，执行功能，包括转换，必须与其智力功能分开评估。
