The role of cardiac vagal tone and inhibitory control in pre-schoolers' listening comprehension.
Author: Scrimin S1, Patron E2, Florit E1, Palomba D2, Mason L1
Affiliation:
1Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
2Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Conference/Journal: Dev Psychobiol.
Date published: 2017 Dec
Other:
Volume ID: 59 , Issue ID: 8 , Pages: 970-975 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1002/dev.21576. Epub 2017 Oct 13. , Word Count: 162
This study investigated the role of basal cardiac activity and inhibitory control at the beginning of the school year in predicting oral comprehension at the end of the year in pre-schoolers. Forty-three, 4-year-olds participated in the study. At the beginning of the school year children's electrocardiogram at rest was registered followed by the assessment of inhibitory control as well as verbal working memory and verbal ability. At the end of the year all children were administered a listening comprehension ability measure. A stepwise regression showed a significant effect of basal cardiac vagal tone in predicting listening comprehension together with inhibitory control and verbal ability. These results are among the first to show the predictive role of basal cardiac vagal tone and inhibitory control in pre-schoolers' oral text comprehension, and offer new insight into the association between autonomic regulation of the heart, inhibitory control, and cognitive activity at a young age.
KEYWORDS: cardiac vagal tone; inhibitory control; listening comprehension; pre-schoolers
PMID: 29027663 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21576
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