TY - JOUR
T1 - Improvements in visual attention in deaf infants and toddlers after cochlear implantation
AU - Quittner, Alexandra L.
AU - Barker, David H.
AU - Snell, Carolyn
AU - Cruz, Ivette
AU - Mcdonald, Lynda Grace
AU - Grimley, Mary E.
AU - Botteri, Melissa
AU - Marciel, Kristen
AU - Eisenberg, Laurie
AU - Luxford, William
AU - Johnson, Karen
AU - Martinez, Amy
AU - Des-Jardin, Jean
AU - Visser-Dumont, Leslie
AU - Ambrose, Sophie
AU - Stika, Carren
AU - Gillinger, Melinda
AU - Niparko, John
AU - Chinnici, Jill
AU - Francis, Howard
AU - Bowditch, Steve
AU - Yeagle, Jennifer
AU - Carver, Courtney
AU - Marlowe, Andrea
AU - Gregg, Andrea
AU - Gross, Jennifer
AU - Ostrander, Rick
AU - Mellon, Nancy
AU - Mertes, Jennifer
AU - O'Leary Kane, Mary
AU - Hodges, Annelle
AU - Balkany, Thomas
AU - Lopez, Alina
AU - Goodwin, Leslie
AU - Zwolan, Teresa
AU - O'Sullivan, Mary Beth
AU - Vereb, Anita
AU - Arnedt, Caroline
AU - Teagle, Holly F.B.
AU - Brown, Carolyn J.
AU - Buchman, Craig A.
AU - Zdanski, Carlton
AU - Eskridge, Hannah
AU - Tobey, Emily
AU - Warner-Czyz, Andrea
AU - Rekart, Deborah
AU - Cokely, Carol
AU - Weissner, Nicole
AU - Boyd, Angela
AU - Fink, Nancy
AU - Wang, Nae Yuh
AU - Habtemariam, Daniel
AU - Vilche, Thelma
AU - Bayton, Patricia
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the parents and children who participated in this study. We would also like to acknowledge the support of Grant Number R0l DC004797 from the National Institute On Deafness And Other Communication Disorders. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute On Deafness And Other Communication Disorders or the National Institutes of Health. We would also like to acknowledge the CDaCI Investigative Team: 1) House Ear Institute: Laurie Eisenberg, William Luxford, Karen Johnson, Amy Martinez, Jean Des-Jardin, Leslie Visser-Dumont, Sophie Ambrose, Carren Stika and Melinda Gillinger; 2) Johns Hopkins Medical Center: John Niparko, Jill Chinni-ci, Howard Francis, Steve Bowditch, Jennifer Yeagle, Courtney Carver, Andrea Marlowe, Andrea Gregg, Jennifer Gross, Rick Ostrander; 3) The River School: Nancy Mellon, Jennifer Mertes, Mary O’Leary Kane; 4) University of Miami Medical Center: Annelle Hodges, Thomas Balkany, Alina Lopez, Leslie Goodwin; 5) University of Michigan: Teresa Zwolan, Mary Beth O’Sullivan, Anita Vereb, Caroline Arnedt; 6) University of North Carolina: Holly F. B. Teagle, Carolyn J. Brown, Craig A. Buchman, Carlton Zdanski, Hannah Eskridge; 7) University of Texas at Dallas: Emily Tobey, Andrea Warner-Czyz, Deborah Rekart, Carol Cokely, Ni-cole Weissner, Angela Boyd; 8) University of Miami Department of Psychology: Alexandra L. Quittner, Ivette Cruz, David Barker; 9) Johns Hopkins University Data Coordinating Center: Nancy Fink, Nae-Yuh Wang, Daniel Habtemariam, Thelma Vilche, Patricia Bayton.
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - The aims of this study were to examine the development of visual attention in deaf and hearing infants and toddlers, and assess whether improvements in visual attention were observed in the deaf sample after 12 months of cochlear implantation. A novel puppet task, based on a measure of attention developed with normally hearing infants, was administered to 88 deaf and 42 normal-hearing children at three time points: baseline, six and 12 months post-implantation for the deaf sample. At baseline, deaf children demonstrated significantly more inattentive looks during the puppet skits than hearing children, and these looks were of longer duration, confirming the results of prior studies which have documented deficits in visual attention in deaf children. Longitudinal analyses showed significant decreases in the frequency of inattentive looks for both groups, with a significant decrease in the duration of inattentive looks only for the cochlear implant group. The largest decrease in duration of off-task looks occurred at six months post-implantation, indicating that improvements occurred rapidly after restoration of auditory input. These results provided support for the 'division of labor' hypothesis which suggests that deaf children with no access or limited access to sound must monitor their environment visually, making it difficult for them to focus and attend to specific tasks. Cochlear implantation appeared to alter the developmental trajectory of visual attention in a positive manner. The clinical implications of visual attention for the development of early language, reading and social skills are discussed.
AB - The aims of this study were to examine the development of visual attention in deaf and hearing infants and toddlers, and assess whether improvements in visual attention were observed in the deaf sample after 12 months of cochlear implantation. A novel puppet task, based on a measure of attention developed with normally hearing infants, was administered to 88 deaf and 42 normal-hearing children at three time points: baseline, six and 12 months post-implantation for the deaf sample. At baseline, deaf children demonstrated significantly more inattentive looks during the puppet skits than hearing children, and these looks were of longer duration, confirming the results of prior studies which have documented deficits in visual attention in deaf children. Longitudinal analyses showed significant decreases in the frequency of inattentive looks for both groups, with a significant decrease in the duration of inattentive looks only for the cochlear implant group. The largest decrease in duration of off-task looks occurred at six months post-implantation, indicating that improvements occurred rapidly after restoration of auditory input. These results provided support for the 'division of labor' hypothesis which suggests that deaf children with no access or limited access to sound must monitor their environment visually, making it difficult for them to focus and attend to specific tasks. Cochlear implantation appeared to alter the developmental trajectory of visual attention in a positive manner. The clinical implications of visual attention for the development of early language, reading and social skills are discussed.
KW - 'Division of labor' hypothesis
KW - Auditory information
KW - Brain plasticity
KW - Cochlear implants
KW - Visual attention
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=35948985892&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/16513860701745401
DO - 10.1080/16513860701745401
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:35948985892
SN - 1651-386X
VL - 5
SP - 242
EP - 249
JO - Audiological Medicine
JF - Audiological Medicine
IS - 4
ER -