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Effects of acoustic environment and task difficulty on children’s attention and inhibitory control

Poster Session A - Saturday, March 7, 3:00 – 5:00 pm, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballrooms

Xinyi Zoe Mao¹ (zoemao@g.ucla.edu), Sofia Byun¹, Andy Taing¹, Shreya Kannan¹, Jennie Grammer¹, Julie M. Schneider¹; ¹University of California, Los Angeles

Loud acoustics in learning environments can disrupt school-aged children’s attention and inhibition, with downstream consequences for academic performance. Yet, the combined effects of acoustic level and task difficulty on these critical skills remain poorly understood. This study examines the effects of both acoustic level and task difficulty on children’s attention and inhibitory control using behavioral and EEG measures. Approximately 20 children (7-12 years) will complete three Go/No-Go tasks that vary in difficulty (easy; medium; hard) under three counterbalanced acoustic conditions (increases in dB and reverberation time across quiet, moderate, and loud levels). Behavioral measures of attention and inhibition include sensitivity indices (A’ and d’). Children’s EEG is also measured during the task using a 32-channel actiCAP with actiCHamp Plus amplifier. Preliminary behavioral analyses (N=11) using A’ shows overall good sensitivity across conditions (A’=0.75–0.89). A linear mixed-effects model reveals a significant interaction between task difficulty and acoustic level (b=-0.22, SE=0.07, p=.009). In the easy task, sensitivity is highest in the loud condition, suggesting that increased arousal from noise may enhance attention. However, as task difficulty increases, sensitivity is higher in the quiet and moderate conditions, implying that noise may disrupt attention when cognitive demands rise. Proposed EEG analyses will examine changes in theta- and alpha-band power, particularly in the midline frontal regions. We hypothesize increases in theta power during No-Go versus Go trials, with greater increases in theta and decreases in alpha power as task demands and noise levels increase – reflecting inhibitory control and attention.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Monitoring & inhibitory control