Abstract
Performance on a three-dimensional multiple object tracking (3D-MOT) task is considered to be an accurate measure of real-world dynamic attention. Working memory (WM) is an important component of 3D-MOT task completion since target items are tracked amongst distractors over a set period of time. 3D-MOT performance is also consistent with developmental expectations, wherein improvements are observed with increasing age in concordance with developing WM capabilities. This study aimed to assess whether 3D-MOT can be used to characterize WM ability at different periods of development by comparing it to that of traditional neuropsychological assessment methods. Sixty-four participants, placed in child(n=9), adolescent (n=22), adult (n=33) groups, were assessed on a 3D-MOT tasks comprised of four conditions with increasing WM load (3 target items out of 8 distractor items were tracked for 5, 8 12 and 15 seconds). All participants also completed the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) WM task; attention (Connors CPT-3 & CATA) and WASI-2 IQ measures also collected. Results indicated that all groups showed a reduction in 3D-MOT performance (defined as the average speed at which target spheres were successfully tracked) with increasing WM load. Importantly, performance on the 3D-MOT and the PASAT WM task declined in a similar rate with increasing WM load for adolescents and adults, but not for children, consistent with developing WM capacity. These group differences seem to reflect the differential ability typically observed on traditional attention and WM tasks, thus suggesting that dynamic 3D-MOT tasks are sensitive enough to characterize WM ability across developmental stages.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2017