scholarly journals Spatial Cognition in Children With Physical Disability; What Is the Impact of Restricted Independent Exploration?

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily K. Farran ◽  
Valerie Critten ◽  
Yannick Courbois ◽  
Emma Campbell ◽  
David Messer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Spatial Cognition ◽  
Physical Disability ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
Ability Group ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Spatial Programming

Given the developmental inter-relationship between motor ability and spatial skills, we investigated the impact of physical disability (PD) on spatial cognition. Fifty-three children with special educational needs including PD were divided into those who were wheelchair users (n = 34) and those with independent locomotion ability (n = 19). This division additionally enabled us to determine the impact of limited independent physical exploration (i.e., required wheelchair use) on spatial competence. We compared the spatial performance of children in these two PD groups to that of typically developing (TD) children who spanned the range of non-verbal ability of the PD groups. Participants completed three spatial tasks; a mental rotation task, a spatial programming task and a desktop virtual reality (VR) navigation task. Levels of impairment of the PD groups were broadly commensurate with their overall level of non-verbal ability. The exception to this was the performance of the PD wheelchair group on the mental rotation task, which was below that expected for their level of non-verbal ability. Group differences in approach to the spatial programming task were evident in that both PD groups showed a different error pattern from the TD group. These findings suggested that for children with both learning difficulties and PD, the unique developmental impact on spatial ability of having physical disabilities, over and above the impact of any learning difficulties, is minimal.

scholarly journals Spatial cognition in children with physical disability; what is the impact of restrictedindependent exploration?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Farran ◽  
Valerie Critten ◽  
Yannick Courbois ◽  
Emma Campbell ◽  
David Messer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Spatial Cognition ◽  
Physical Disability ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
Ability Group ◽  
Wheelchair Users ◽  
The Impact

On account of the developmental relationship between motor ability and spatial skills. we investigated the impact of physical disability (PD) on spatial cognition. Fifty-three children with special educational needs including PD took part. The children with PD were divided into those who were wheelchair users (N=34) and those who had independent locomotion (N=19). This division enabled us to additionally determine the impact of limited independent physical exploration on spatial competence (exploration is typically relatively restricted for wheelchair users). Performance of the PD groups was compared to that of typically developing (TD) children who spanned the range of non-verbal ability of the PD groups. Participants completed three spatial tasks; a mental rotation task, a Bee-bot route task and a desktop virtual reality (VR) navigation task. The PD groups broadly demonstrated lower levels of performance than the TD children. However, when performance was considered with reference to participant’s learning difficulties, this demonstrated that levels of impairment across tasks were broadly commensurate with their overall level of non-verbal ability. The exception to this was the performance of the PD wheelchair group on the mental rotation task, which was below that expected for their level of non-verbal ability. Group differences in task approach were evident for the Bee-Bot task; both PD groups showed a different pattern of errors than the TD group. These findings suggest that for children with learning difficulties and PD, the developmental impact of having physical disabilities on spatial ability, over and above the impact of having learning difficulties, is minimal.

The Brain-Sex Theory of Occupational Choice: A Counterexample

2005 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Esgate ◽  
Maria Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Occupational Choice ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Fashion Design ◽  
Generation Task ◽  
Reverse Pattern ◽  
Explicit Training ◽  
The Brain

The brain-sex theory of occupational choice suggests that males and females in male-typical careers show a male pattern of cognitive ability in terms of better spatial than verbal performance on cognitive tests with the reverse pattern for females and males in female-typical careers. These differences are thought to result from patterns of cerebral functional lateralisation. This study sought such occupationally related effects using synonym generation (verbal ability) and mental rotation (spatial ability) tasks used previously. It also used entrants to these careers as participants to examine whether patterns of cognitive abilities might predate explicit training and practice. Using a population of entrants to sex-differentiated university courses, a moderate occupational effect on the synonym generation task was found, along with a weak ( p<.10) sex effect on the mental rotation task. Highest performance on the mental rotation task was by female students in fashion design, a female-dominated occupation which makes substantial visuospatial demands and attracts many students with literacy problems such as dyslexia. This group then appears to be a counterexample to the brain-sex theory. However, methodological issues surrounding previous studies are highlighted: the simple synonym task appears to show limited discrimination of the sexes, leading to questions concerning the legitimacy of inferences about lateralisation based on scores from that test. Moreover, the human figure-based mental rotation task appears to tap the wrong aspect of visuospatial skill, likely to be needed for male-typical courses such as engineering. Since the fashion-design career is also one that attracts disproportionately many male students whose sexual orientation is homosexual, data were examined for evidence of female-typical patterns of cognitive performance among that subgroup. This was not found. This study therefore provides no evidence for the claim that female-pattern cerebral functional lateralisation is likely in gay males.

Sex Differences in Verbal and Spatial Ability Reconsidered in Relation to Body Size Lung Volume, and Sex Hormones

2003 ◽  
Vol 96 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1347-1360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Üner Tan ◽  
Mukadder Okuyan ◽  
Tugba Albayrak ◽  
Ahmet Akgun
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Sex Hormones ◽  
Lung Volume ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Intelligence Test ◽  
Better Than

Sex differences in verbal and nonverbal abilities were reconsidered in relation to bodily measures and sex hormones in Turkish university students. Perceptual-verbal ability was evaluated using As Test. To assess the nonverbal abilities, the mental rotation test and Cattell's Culture Fair Intelligence Test were used. As expected, the 53 women performed better than men on the As Test; 79 men had a higher mean than the 53 women on the mental rotation task; there was no sex difference on Cattell's IQ Test. Cattell IQs correlated only with tidal volume of lungs. Scores on the As Test did not show significant correlations with body size and lung capacities. Mental rotation was significantly correlated with height, weight, and lung volume. With covariates of height, weight, and vital capacity, sex differences in mental rotation completely disappeared, but the difference on the As Test increased while Cattell IQ remained sex-neutral. With testosterone as covariate, the sex difference on the As test increased but on the mental rotation task disappeared; Cattell IQ was sex-neutral. With covariates of estradiol and progesterone, sex differences on the As test disappeared; mental rotation scores and Cattell IQ were not influenced. Under a combined covariation of height, weight, and testosterone, sex differences in mental rotation reversed, women scoring better than men; after adding estradiol or progesterone instead of testosterone to this model, sex differences on mental rotation completely disappeared, but verbal ability and Cattell IQ were not changed. These results suggest that Cattell's Culture Fair Intelligence Test is unique in resistance to sex differences; perceptual-verbal ability was the most sex-specific mental trait but with dependence on estradiol; mental rotation, on the contrary, was least sex-specific, depending on body size, lung volume, sex hormones, and their combined actions, which explains women's better performance.

Individual Differences in Mental Rotation

2013 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Khooshabeh ◽  
Mary Hegarty ◽  
Thomas F. Shipley
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Imagery Ability ◽  
Alternative Strategies

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that imagery ability and figural complexity interact to affect the choice of mental rotation strategies. Participants performed the Shepard and Metzler (1971) mental rotation task. On half of the trials, the 3-D figures were manipulated to create “fragmented” figures, with some cubes missing. Good imagers were less accurate and had longer response times on fragmented figures than on complete figures. Poor imagers performed similarly on fragmented and complete figures. These results suggest that good imagers use holistic mental rotation strategies by default, but switch to alternative strategies depending on task demands, whereas poor imagers are less flexible and use piecemeal strategies regardless of the task demands.

scholarly journals Comparison on Well-Being, Engagement and Perceived School Climate in Secondary School Students with Learning Difficulties and Specific Learning Disorders: An Exploratory Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Lombardi ◽  
Daniela Traficante ◽  
Roberta Bettoni ◽  
Ilaria Offredi ◽  
Mirta Vernice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Learning Disorder ◽  
School Students ◽  
Specific Learning Disorder ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Specific Learning

Reading and writing skills influence the social status of students, exerting effects not only on learning, but also on wellbeing. This study aimed to assess the impact of diagnosis of specific learning disorder on well-being in secondary-school students, comparing students with a diagnosis of specific learning disorder (SLD-group), students showing learning difficulties without diagnosis (LD-group) and students without learning difficulties (control-group). Students were tested with neuropsychological screening tests in order to identify learning difficulties and were further assessed by means of psychological and school well-being questionnaires. The results show that LD group perceive themselves as having a low sense of mastery and autonomy, less interest and engagement in daily activities and low peer social support than their schoolmates. This result highlights, for the LD group, a low well-being experience, which is not observed in the SLD and control groups. On the contrary, SLD group students do not differ from control group students in any dimensions except for the perceived parents’ support and involvement in school life, in which the SLD group show the highest scores. This work underlines the importance of having a diagnosis as it seems to work as a protective factor for both the psychological and school well-being of the student.

Neuroimaging correlates of insight in obsessive compulsive disorder: A fMRI study

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S409-S409
Author(s):  
A. Gadad ◽  
D.Y.C.J. Reddy ◽  
D.G. Venkatasubramanian ◽  
D.J. C.N
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Inferior Parietal Lobule ◽  
Good Insight ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Accuracy Ratio ◽  
Parietal Lobule ◽  
Medial Frontal Gyrus

Aim of the studyTo study the neural substrates of insight in OCD by comparing patients with good insight, patients with poor insight and matched healthy controls using functional MRI.MethodologySubjects were recruited from among patients attending OCD clinic, adult psychiatry services and psychiatry ward inpatients of National Institute of Mental Health And Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore. They were further divided into ‘good insight’ (n = 30) and ‘poor insight’ (n = 14) using Brown's assessment of belief's scale. Control subjects (n = 30) were recruited from consenting volunteers. 3 T MRI was used mental rotation task was paradigm used for fMRI and analysis was done by SPM 8.ResultsPoor insight patients and good insight patients comparison revealed differential activation in left superior/medial frontal gyrus (corresponding to the DLPFC). A negative correlation between BABS score and activation of right inferior parietal lobule. Mental rotation task behavioural data results: OCD patients as a group had significantly lower accuracy compared to healthy controls. Poor insight group had significantly decreased accuracy ratio compared to good insight group and healthy controls. A negative correlation was noted between BABS score and accuracy ratio, indicating that poorer the insight, greater the errors during the active task.ConclusionInsight has been important prognostic factor in OCD. Poor insight patients had specific deficits in left medial frontal gyrus and right inferior parietal lobule as compared to good insight patients and healthy controls. Together, these indicate that insight has a strong neurobiological underpinning in OCD.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Welfare for those who can? The impact of the quasi-market on the lives of people with learning difficulties

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair Wilson ◽  
Sheila Riddell ◽  
Stephen Baron
Keyword(s):  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Impact of lockdown and school closure on children in special schools: a single-centre survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e000981
Author(s):  
Tapomay Banerjee ◽  
Amjad Khan ◽  
Piriyanga Kesavan
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
Single Centre ◽  
Special Schools ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Impact

Special schools play a significant role in the daily lives of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We explored the impact of the COVID-19-related first lockdown and resulting school closure by surveying parents whose children attended three special schools in Bedford, UK. We asked about anxiety and impact on emotional well-being and education. We received 53 responses from parents: 31 felt their child was more anxious during the lockdown period/school closure compared with beforehand and 42 felt their child’s emotional well-being had been affected. Children and young people attending special schools may have struggled both academically and emotionally during the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Mental Rotation Meets the Motion Aftereffect: The Role of hV5/MT+ in Visual Mental Imagery

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1395-1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Seurinck ◽  
Floris P. de Lange ◽  
Erik Achten ◽  
Guy Vingerhoets
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Motion Aftereffect ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Visual Mental Imagery

A growing number of studies show that visual mental imagery recruits the same brain areas as visual perception. Although the necessity of hV5/MT+ for motion perception has been revealed by means of TMS, its relevance for motion imagery remains unclear. We induced a direction-selective adaptation in hV5/MT+ by means of an MAE while subjects performed a mental rotation task that elicits imagined motion. We concurrently measured behavioral performance and neural activity with fMRI, enabling us to directly assess the effect of a perturbation of hV5/MT+ on other cortical areas involved in the mental rotation task. The activity in hV5/MT+ increased as more mental rotation was required, and the perturbation of hV5/MT+ affected behavioral performance as well as the neural activity in this area. Moreover, several regions in the posterior parietal cortex were also affected by this perturbation. Our results show that hV5/MT+ is required for imagined visual motion and engages in an interaction with parietal cortex during this cognitive process.

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