Digit Span Performance in Children with Dystrophinopathy: A Verbal Span or Working Memory Contribution?

Emily B. Leaffer · Robert J. Fee · Veronica J. Hinton

23 citations0/0 files storedJournal of the International Neuropsychological Society

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology Reading and Literacy Development Cognitive Abilities and Testing

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: In a large cohort of boys with dystrophinopathies and their unaffected siblings, we examined whether consistently observed performance on digit span is due primarily to a verbal span or executive deficit. We additionally assessed whether digit span performance contributed to the observed variability in reading performance noted in this population. METHODS: Performance of 170 boys with dystrophinopathy was compared to 95 unaffected sibling controls on measures of verbal function, reading, and digit span. Maximum digit span forward (DSF) and backward (DSB) lengths were converted to Z-scores using normative data. Independent sample t tests, analysis of variance, and hierarchical multiple regression were run (α=0.05). RESULTS: Probands performed worse than controls on digit span, even after accounting for differences in general verbal function (p<.0001). Differences were significant for both DSF (p<.005) and DSB (p<.0001) span length, and an interaction effect yielded significantly worse DSB compared with DSF (p=.01). Reading performance was also lower in probands (p<.0001). The contribution of general level of verbal function, and forward and backward span lengths, did not vary between groups. CONCLUSIONS: In boys with dystrophinopathy, decreased performance on digit span appears to be due to both decreased span forward (measuring verbal span only) and backward (measuring verbal span and working memory). The extent to which sibling controls exhibited better performance compared to the probands was significantly greater for backward span when compared with forward span. Thus, immediate verbal memory and executive control are differentially compromised among boys with dystrophinopathy, and both of these abilities independently contribute to reading performance. (JINS, 2016, 22, 777-784).

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 23 citations exist upstream.

References

1980Individual differences in working memory and reading 2011Working Memory: Theories, Models, and Controversies 2018Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children 1999Working memory, short-term memory, and general fluid intelligence: A latent-variable approach.2020Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children 1981Woodcock-Johnson psycho-Educational battery 2009Working Memory, Short-Term Memory, and Reading Disabilities 1994Short-Term Memory and Working Memory

Cited by

2018Executive Skills and Academic Achievement in the Dystrophinopathies 2018Executive Functioning in the Dystrophinopathies and the Relation to Underlying Mutation Position 2018Underlying Contribution of Executive Functioning to Cognition and Academic Achievement in Individuals with Dystrophinopathy

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.