Early Childhood Vigilance Test (ECVT) of attention in younger HIV-exposed Ugandan children predicts Tests of Variables of Attention (TOVA) at school age.

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate a computerized-based attention test in early infancy in predicting neurocognitive schoolage performance in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-exposed uninfected children. Method: Thirty-eight Ugandan HIV-exposed/uninfected children (17 boys, 21 girls) were evaluated with the Early Childhood Vigilance Test (ECVT) of attention between 3 and 5 years of age, which is a 6-min 44 s animation with colorful animals that greet the child and move across the screen. Attention was proportion of total animation time viewing a computer screen, as well as the proportion of time tracking the moving animal using eye tracking. These children were then again tested at least 2 years later (between 5 and 9 years of age) with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd Edition (KABC-II) and the visual computerized Tests of Variables of Attention (TOVA). Results: Irrespective of whether scored by webcam video scoring or using automated eye tracking to compute proportion of time viewing the animation, ECVT attention was significantly correlated with all TOVA outcomes for vigilance attention. This was still the case when the correlation was adjusted for type of caregiver training for the mother, child gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and quality of Home Observational Measurement Evaluation (HOME) environment-especially for the TOVA response time variability to signal ( p = .03). None of the ECVT attention performance measures correlated significantly with any of the KABC-II cognitive ability outcomes. Conclusion: Attention assessment in early childhood is predictive of school-age computer-based measures of attention and can be used to gauge the effects of factors of early risk and resilience in brain/behavior development in African children affected by HIV.

Is Neurodevelopmental Assessment in Early Childhood Predictive of Performance Assessed Later in Childhood and Adolescence in Sub-Saharan Africa? A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…the assessment of alertness, attention, and neurocognitive performance ( Familiar et al., 2022 ; Familiar-Lopez et al., 2023 ).…”

“…Several neurocognitive developmental tests were used for the assessments. Three studies used the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, second edition (KABC-II) and the TOVA ( Boivin et al., 2021 ; Familiar et al., 2022 ; Familiar-Lopez et al., 2023 ) to assess neuropsychological development in children. Two studies used the Revised Denver Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire (R-DPDQ) to assess children’s cognitive functions ( Hsiao & Richter, 2014 ; Richter et al., 2015 ); and two employed the simple Denver II form ( Gandhi et al., 2013 ; Hsiao & Richter, 2014 ).…”

“…One study employed the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) and the Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) to study children’s social maturity ( Richter et al., 2015 ). The Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) were used in two studies to assess children’s psychomotor development ( Boivin et al., 2021 ; Familiar et al., 2022 ); and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used in two studies for emotional and behavioral screening ( Boivin et al., 2021 ; Cortina et al., 2019 ). The Cognitive Triad Inventory for Children (CTI-C) was used in one study to assess children’s psychological functioning ( Cortina et al., 2019 ).…”

“…The South African Child Assessment Schedule, the Youth Self-Report Questionnaire, and the World Health Organization (WHO) Self-Report Questionnaire were used to determine externalizing disorders in children ( Orri et al., 2022 ). Similarly, the Early Childhood Vigilance Test (ECVT) was used in one study and the Fagan Test for Infant Intelligence (FTII) in another to measure the early childhood attention and vigilance ( Familiar et al., 2022 ; Familiar-Lopez et al., 2023 ).…”

“…Two of the selected studies demonstrated that the assessment of alertness and attention at 6–12 months was predictive of neurocognitive performance at 3–5 years of age ( Familiar et al., 2022 ; Familiar-Lopez et al., 2023 ). Using automated eye tracking to compute proportion of time viewing a 6.2-minute animation video of colorful cartoon animals periodically moving across the screen (ECVT) at pre-school age, attention was significantly correlated with all TOVA outcomes when the child reached school age.…”