RESEARCH ARTICLE
Problems with inattention, reading comprehension, and autonomic regulation on the Stroop task
Derek R. Becker,
Corresponding Author
Derek R. Becker
Department of Human Services, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, USA
Correspondence
Derek R. Becker, Western Carolina University, 1 University Drive, Cullowhee, NC 28723.
Email: drbecker@wcu.edu
Search for more papers by this authorDerek R. Becker,
Corresponding Author
Derek R. Becker
Department of Human Services, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, USA
Correspondence
Derek R. Becker, Western Carolina University, 1 University Drive, Cullowhee, NC 28723.
Email: drbecker@wcu.edu
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 30 April 2020
Funding information: Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Grant/Award Number: MH42484; National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Grant/Award Number: MD002722
Abstract
Direct and moderated connections among symptoms of inattention, High-Frequency Heart Rate Variability (HF-HRV), and reading comprehension scores were examined. Children age 7 to 12 were rated by both parents and teachers on symptoms of inattention with the Behavior Assessment System for Children. Reading was assessed with the Peabody Individualized Achievement Test, and HF-HRV was examined during a Stroop task. Controlling for reading recognition scores, results were consistent with previous work, showing HF-HRV was significantly negatively associated with reading comprehension, with lower HF-HRV predicting higher reading scores. HF-HRV also significantly moderated the relationship between symptoms of inattention and reading comprehension, suggesting that as symptoms of inattention increase, children with low HF-HRV had higher reading comprehension scores. Variations in parasympathetic reactivity may help explain reading comprehension heterogeneity for children with symptoms of inattention.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
REFERENCES
- Acock, A. C. (2005). Working with missing values. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(4), 1012–1028.
- Barkley, R. A. (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of adhd. Psychological Bulletin, 121(1), 65–94.
- Barkley, R. A. (2011). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, self-regulation, and executive functioning. In K. Vohs, R. F. Baumeister (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation, New York: Guilford, pp. 551–563.
- Becker, D. R., Carrere, S., Siler, C., Jones, S., Bowie, B., & Cooke, C. (2012). Autonomic regulation on the stroop predicts reading achievement in school age children. Mind, Brain, and Education, 6(1), 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-228X.2011.01130.x
- Berntson, G. G., Thomas Bigger, J., Eckberg, D. L., Grossman, P., Kaufmann, P. G., Malik, M., … Stone, P. H. (1997). Heart rate variability: Origins, methods, and interpretive caveats. Psychophysiology, 34(6), 623–648.
- Borella, E., Carretti, B., & Pelegrina, S. (2010). The specific role of inhibition in reading comprehension in good and poor comprehenders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 43(6), 541–552.
- Börger, N., van Der Meere, J., Ronner, A., Alberts, E., Geuze, R., & Bogte, H. (1999). Heart rate variability and sustained attention in ADHD children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27(1), 25–33.
- Byrd, D. L., Reuther, E. T., McNamara, J. P., DeLucca, T. L., & Berg, W. K. (2015). Age differences in high frequency phasic heart rate variability and performance response to increased executive function load in three executive function tasks. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1470.
- Casey, B., Castellanos, F. X., Giedd, J. N., Marsh, W. L., Hamburger, S. D., Schubert, A. B., & Sarfatti, S. E. (1997). Implication of right frontostriatal circuitry in response inhibition and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(3), 374–383.
- Castellanos, F. X., Margulies, D. S., Kelly, C., Uddin, L. Q., Ghaffari, M., Kirsch, A., … Biswal, B. (2008). Cingulate-precuneus interactions: A new locus of dysfunction in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 63(3), 332–337.
- Cox, C. S., Chee, E., Chase, G. A., Baumgardner, T. L., Schuerholz, L. J., Reader, M. J., … Denckla, M. B. (1997). Reading proficiency affects the construct validity of the Stroop test interference score. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 11(2), 105–110.
- Crone, E. A., Richard Jennings, J., & Van Der Molen, M. W. (2003). Sensitivity to interference and response contingencies in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44(2), 214–226.
- Doohan, E. A. M., Carrère, S., Siler, C., & Beardslee, C. (2009). The link between the marital bond and future triadic family interactions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(4), 892–904.
- Doyle, A., Ostrander, R., Skare, S., Crosby, R. D., & August, G. J. (2016). Convergent and criterion-related validity of the behavior assessment system for children-parent rating scale. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26(3), 276–284. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp2603_6
- Eisenberg, J., Natella Ben-Daniel, M., & Mei-Tal, G. (2004). An autonomic nervous system biofeedback modality for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity. The Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 41(1), 45–53.
- Gianaros, P. J., Van der Veen, F. M., & Jennings, J. R. (2004). Regional cerebral blood flow correlates with heart period and high-frequency heart period variability during working-memory tasks: Implications for the cortical and subcortical regulation of cardiac autonomic activity. Psychophysiology, 41(4), 521–530. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-8986.2004.00179.x
- Griffiths, K. R., Quintana, D. S., Hermens, D. F., Spooner, C., Tsang, T. W., Clarke, S., & Kohn, M. R. (2017). Sustained attention and heart rate variability in children and adolescents with ADHD. Biological Psychology, 124, 11–20.
- Groen, Y., Mulder, L. J. M., Wijers, A. A., Minderaa, R. B., & Althaus, M. (2009). Methylphenidate improves diminished error and feedback sensitivity in ADHD: An evoked heart rate analysis. Biological Psychology, 82(1), 45–53.
- Hedman, A., Hartikainen, J., Tahvanainen, K., & Hakumäki, M. (1995). The high frequency component of heart rate variability reflects cardiac parasympathetic modulation rather than parasympathetic ‘tone’. Acta Physiologica, 155(3), 267–273.
- Holzman, J. B., & Bridgett, D. J. (2017). Heart rate variability indices as bio-markers of top-down self-regulatory mechanisms: A meta-analytic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 74, 233–255.
- Ila, A. B., & Polich, J. (1999). P300 and response time from a manual Stroop task. Clinical Neurophysiology, 110(2), 367–373.
- Jennings, R. J., & van der Molen, M. W. (2002). Cardiac timing and the central regulation of action. Psychological Research, 66(4), 337–349.
- Johnson, K. A., White, M., Wong, P. S., & Murrihy, C. (2020). Aspects of attention and inhibitory control are associated with on-task classroom behaviour and behavioural assessments, by both teachers and parents, in children with high and low symptoms of ADHD. Child Neuropsychology, 26(2), 219–241.
- Lozano, D. (2002). MindWare HR/HRV analysis user reference (rev. 2.0). Westerville, OH: MindWare Technologies, Ltd.
- Luman, M., Oosterlaan, J., Hyde, C., van Meel, C. S., & Sergeant, J. A. (2007). Heart rate and reinforcement sensitivity in ADHD. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(9), 890–898.
- Marcovitch, S., Leigh, J., Calkins, S. D., Leerks, E. M., O'brien, M., & Blankson, A. N. (2010). Moderate vagal withdrawal in 3.5-year-old children is associated with optimal performance on executive function tasks. Developmental Psychobiology, 52(6), 603–608.
- Markwardt, F. C. (1989). Peabody individual achievement test-revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
- Matthews, S. C., Paulus, M. P., Simmons, A. N., Nelesen, R. A., & Dimsdale, J. E. (2004). Functional subdivisions within anterior cingulate cortex and their relationship to autonomic nervous system function. NeuroImage, 22(3), 1151–1156.
- Meixner, J. M., Warner, G. J., Lensing, N., Schiefele, U., & Elsner, B. (2019). The relation between executive functions and reading comprehension in primary-school students: A cross-lagged-panel analysis. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 46, 62–74.
- Miller, A. C., Keenan, J. M., Betjemann, R. S., Willcutt, E. G., Pennington, B. F., & Olson, R. K. (2013). Reading comprehension in children with ADHD: Cognitive underpinnings of the centrality deficit. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41(3), 473–483.
- Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41(1), 49–100.
- Mukaka, M. M. (2012). A guide to appropriate use of correlation coefficient in medical research. Malawi Medical Journal, 24(3), 69–71.
- Musser, E. D., Backs, R. W., Schmitt, C. F., Ablow, J. C., Measelle, J. R., & Nigg, J. T. (2011). Emotion regulation via the autonomic nervous system in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39(6), 841–852.
- Negrao, B. L., Bipath, P., van der Westhuizen, D., & Viljoen, M. (2011). Autonomic correlates at rest and during evoked attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and effects of methylphenidate. Neuropsychobiology, 63(2), 82–91.
- Pennington, B. F., Groisser, D., & Welsh, M. C. (1993). Contrasting cognitive deficits in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder versus reading disability. Developmental Psychology, 29(3), 511–523.
- Perkins, S. E., Jelinek, H. F., Al-Aubaidy, H. A., & de Jong, B. (2017). Immediate and long term effects of endurance and high intensity interval exercise on linear and nonlinear heart rate variability. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(3), 312–316.
- Peterson, B. S., Potenza, M. N., Wang, Z., Zhu, H., Martin, A., Marsh, R., … Yu, S. (2009). An FMRI study of the effects of psychostimulants on default-mode processing during Stroop task performance in youths with ADHD. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166(11), 1286–1294.
- Porges, S. W. (1992a). Autonomic regulation and attention. In: Campbell BA, Hayne H, Richardson R (eds) Attention and information processing in infants and adults. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp 201–223.
- Porges, S. W. (1992b). Vagal tone: A physiologic marker of stress vulnerability. Pediatrics, 90(3), 498–504.
- Porges, S. W., Doussard-Roosevelt, J. A., Lourdes Portales, A., & Suess, P. E. (1994). Cardiac vagal tone: Stability and relation to difficultness in infants and 3-year-olds. Developmental Psychobiology, 27(5), 289–300.
- Porges, S. W., Doussard-Roosevelt, J. A., Portales, A. L., & Greenspan, S. I. (1996). Infant regulation of the vagal “brake” predicts child behavior problems: A psychobiological model of social behavior. Developmental Psychobiology, 29(8), 697–712.
- Protopapas, A., Archonti, A., & Skaloumbakas, C. (2007). Reading ability is negatively related to Stroop interference. Cognitive Psychology, 54(3), 251–282.
- Rash, J. A., & Aguirre-Camacho, A. (2012). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and cardiac vagal control: A systematic review. ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 4(4), 167–177.
- Reynolds, C., & Kamphaus, R. (1992). Behavior assessment system for children: Manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service: Inc.
- Robe, A., Dobrean, A., Cristea, I. A., Păsărelu, C.-R., & Predescu, E. (2019). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and task-related heart rate variability: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 99, 11–22.
- Scarpina, F., & Tagini, S. (2017). The stroop color and word test. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 557.
- Schafer, J. L., & Graham, J. W. (2002). Missing data: Our view of the state of the art. Psychological Methods, 7(2), 147–177.
- StataCorp. (2017). Stata statistical software: Release 15. College Station, TX: StataCorp LLC.
- Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18(6), 643–662.
- Suess, P. E., Newlin, D. B., & Porges, S. W. (1997). Motivation, sustained attention, and autonomic regulation in school-age boys exposed in utero to opiates and alcohol. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 5(4), 375–387.
- Suess, P. E., Porges, S. W., & Plude, D. J. (1994). Cardiac vagal tone and sustained attention in school-age children. Psychophysiology, 31(1), 17–22.
- Takacs, Z. K., & Kassai, R. (2019). The efficacy of different interventions to foster children's executive function skills: A series of meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 145(7), 653–697.
- Thayer, F. J. (2007). What the heart says to the brain (and vice versa) and why we should listen. Psihologijske Teme, 16(2), 241–250.
- Tonhajzerova, I., Farsky, I., Mestanik, M., Visnovcova, Z., Mestanikova, A., Hrtanek, I., & Ondrejka, I. (2016). Symbolic dynamics of heart rate variability - a promising tool to investigate cardiac sympathovagal control in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 94(6), 579–587. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjpp-2015-0375
- Ward, A. R., Alarcón, G., Nigg, J. T., & Musser, E. D. (2015). Variation in parasympathetic dysregulation moderates short-term memory problems in childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43(8), 1573–1583.
- Willcutt, E. G., Doyle, A. E., Nigg, J. T., Faraone, S. V., & Pennington, B. F. (2005). Validity of the executive function theory of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analytic review. Biological psychiatry, 57(11), 1336–1346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.02.006
- Whalen, C. K., Henker, B., Collins, B. E., McAuliffe, S., & Vaux, A. (1979). Peer interaction in a structured communication task: Comparisons of normal and hyperactive boys and of methylphenidate (Ritalin) and placebo effects. Child Development, 50, 388–401.
- Zenner, C., Herrnleben-Kurz, S., & Walach, H. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions in schools—A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 603.
