Visual masking assesses visual perception and attention; it occurs when a visual stimulus (mask) interferes with the perception of a stimulus that the participant is trying to identify (target). A backward masking study (target presented before mask) was performed on 662 children without disabilities (338 females), aged between 6 and 17 years, in order to evaluate if performance varies with age. In the masking procedure 10 letters were presented through a tachistoscope as target stimuli. Fragments of letters oriented at random ('noise') represented the mask. A slight improvement of visual performance from the beginning of school age to 9-12 years of age was found. This paper gives normative data for the most important parameters which can be used as a standardized reference for the procedure employed. We also studied 113 children with epilepsy (56 females), aged between 5 and 19 years, who attended a mainstream school and had been seizure free for at least 2 years. Children were tested just before starting antiepileptic drug withdrawal and re-tested 1 year later; they were drug free for 3 months before the second test. These children showed, during and after treatment, only slightly worse results when compared with healthy children of the same age; after therapy withdrawal, their visual performance slightly improved but this was not statistically significant.
Development of visual perception and attention, assessed by backward masking and application in children with epilepsy / M. Macchi, L.N. Rossi, I. Cortinovis, L. Menegazzo, S.M. Burri, M. Piller, C.C.V. Brantschen, A. Romeo, F. Vassella. - In: DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE AND CHILD NEUROLOGY. - ISSN 0012-1622. - 45:8(2003 Aug), pp. 562-567.
Titolo: | Development of visual perception and attention, assessed by backward masking and application in children with epilepsy |
Autori: | ROSSI, LIVIA NICOLETTA (Secondo) |
Parole Chiave: | Adolescent ; Anticonvulsants ; Attention ; Child ; Epilepsy ; Female ; Fixation, Ocular ; Humans ; Male ; Perceptual Masking ; Visual Fields ; Visual Perception |
Settore Scientifico Disciplinare: | Settore MED/01 - Statistica Medica Settore MED/38 - Pediatria Generale e Specialistica |
Data di pubblicazione: | ago-2003 |
Rivista: | |
Tipologia: | Article (author) |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2003.tb00957.x |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 01 - Articolo su periodico |