visuo-spatial memory

Clinical symptoms of autism spectrum disorder are diverse and include neurodevelopmental and cognitive impairments, as well as memory deficits, which are one of the most challenging areas for these individuals.

The present study aimed to develop and validate a neurocognitive rehabilitation program and evaluate its efficacy on reaction time, recognition of shape, and visual-spatial memory in high-functioning male teenagers with autism.

The study was conducted as a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test measures and a one-month follow-up session. The population included male teenagers with autism attending special schools in Tehran during the academic year 2022-2023. A total of 30 participants were selected from this population using convenient random sampling and assigned to experimental and control groups. The participants received ten one-hour sessions of intervention over a period of 1.5 months, and Sina cognitive software was used in three stages: pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. Independent t-test was used to compare the change scores between the two groups, and repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine the stability of the intervention's effectiveness.

The results showed a significant reduction in reaction time for simple reaction (t(28)=3.16, d=0.83, P=0.004) and selective reaction (t(28)=8.11, d=0.76, P<0.001) in the experimental group compared to the control group in the post-test and follow-up stages. Moreover, the experimental group showed a significant improvement in pattern recognition (t(28)=10.67, d=0.893, P<0.001) and visual-spatial memory (t(28)=10.90, d=0.884, P<0.001) compared to the control group in the post-test and follow-up stages.

Computer-based cognitive exercises are effective in improving cognitive performance and memory in individuals with autism. If these exercises are combined with sensory and motor interventions, better and more sustainable results can be achieved.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a chronic and common disorder in children. The disorder is characterized by inadequate levels of activity, uncontrolled behaviors, and memory impairment. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of manipulation of vestibular system activity on visual spatial memory of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity children.

24 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity were participated in the present study. Participants were selected after completing the Conners’ teacher Questionnaire and Clinical interview with parents based on the inclusion criteria. Children were divided into two experimental and control groups. The present study tool was CBT (Corsi Block Test) to measure the visual spatial memory variable. Also, for the experimental group, 10 sessions of rotational, linear, balance and combination exercise were considered to enhance the activity of the vestibular system. Participants were placed in the pre-test and post-test sessions and their results were recorded. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 software.

The results of the present study showed that there was no significant difference between the scores of the groups in the visual memory space variable in the pre-test stage (p> 0.05). The analysis of variance with repeated measures showed that the main effect of the evaluation process (pre-test, post-test) is statistically significant (p <0.05). Also, the main effect of the group F (1.21) =4.93 was statistically significant. Comparison of the means showed that the subjects in the experimental group had a better visual memory score than the control group. The interactive effect of group × evaluation steps is also statistically significant. The results of the Bonfroni test showed that the mean score of the visual memory space of the experimental group in the post-test stage was better than the control group.

Therefore, it can be concluded that rotational, linear, balance and combination exercise improve the visual spatial memory in hyperactive children with attention deficit. Therefore, training based on increasing the activity of the vestibular system can be useful for improving the visual spatial memory of these children.