Análisis de las funciones cognoscitivas y del lenguaje en niños escolarizados con déficit de atención con y sin hiperactividad

Abstract

Introduction: In the factorial model of cognition brain organization there are some underlying shared components in the structure of the cognitive functions. Objective:  To analyze the execution of semantic memory tests and visual of points, the executive function, attention and language function in children with attention deficiency with and without hyperactivity, aged between 7 to 11 and registered in schools in Medellín, that could support the model of underlying shared components. Patients And Methods:  32 children with attention deficiency without hyperactivity /DDA/-H), 28 with attention deficiency with hyperactivity (DDD/+H), according to the DMS-IV criteria and with a grading of T 60 in a checklist for DDA, and 32 controls, all of them with an 80 WISC-R (CIM) and ages ranging from 7 to 11 years old. Data regarding age, sex, level of scolarity and social economic level was collected. Different tests were applied to evaluate the cognitive functions such as: digito subtest, symbol, arithmetic and failures to maintain the principles of WISCONSI cards classification tests for evaluating attention, the semantic memory tests and the visual of points for evaluating memory, the WINSCONSI cards classification tests for evaluating the executive functions and for evaluating language comprehension tests were employed. Inference, story-telling, phonologic and semantic fluency, analogy and fast denomination tests were used. Results: Children of both DDA groups had verbal IQ, a CIM, and a total IQ significantly lower than the controls (ANOVA-corrección-Bonferroni (p 0,005). Among the DDA groups and control significant grading into the digit subtest were obtained, symbol (p 0.05), and in the story telling, analogy and phonologic FAS subtest (p 0.01) between the control group and both groups with DDA, in the analysis of correlation, significant correlations were observed between (arithmetic) and the phonologic FAS, story telling comprehension with a mere level. (r=.26 to .32) Also (r=.25 to .36) between the executive function test and the phonologic FAS and semantic, story telling, comprehension, analogy, sentence comprehension and fast denomination tests. The semantic memory variables are correlated in a moderate way with all the language tests excluding the fast denomination one(r=.20 to .47) . The visual of points memory is correlated with all the language tests. (r=.20 to .46) but the fast denomination and story telling. Conclusions: According to the factorial model there are important correlations between the underlying cognitive tests and the language when comparing a group of healthy children with a group of children with DDA. The CIT as a co variable produces significant results of the cognitive underlying and language tests in the group of children with DDA .