اثربخشی نوروفیدبک بر عملکرد توجه پیوسته و اضطراب ریاضی در دانش‌آموزان پسر با اختلال یادگیری خاص از نوع ریاضی

زمینه و هدف: دانش‌آموزان با اختلال یادگیری ریاضی در توجه پیوسته و اضطراب ریاضی مشکلاتی دارند؛ بنابراین پژوهش حاضر با هدف تعیین اثربخشی نوروفیدبک بر عملکرد توجه پیوسته و اضطراب ریاضی در دانش‌آموزان پسر با اختلال یادگیری ریاضی انجام شد.روش‌بررسی: این پژوهش از نوع نیمه‌آزمایشی با پیش‌آزمون و پس‌آزمون با گروه گواه بود. جامعهٔ آماری را تمامی دانش‌آموزان پسر مبتلا به اختلال یادگیری ریاضی، مراجعه‌کننده به چند مرکز تخصصی اختلالات یادگیری در شهر تهران در سال تحصیلی 971396 تشکیل دادند. از میان آن‌ها تعداد سی دانش‌آموز در مقاطع چهارم و پنجم ابتدایی به‌روش در‌دسترس انتخاب شدند و به‌طور تصادفی در گروه‌ آزمایش و گروه گواه (هر گروه پانزده نفر) قرار گرفتند. برای گروه آزمایش به‌مدت بیست جلسهٔ 60دقیقه‌ای، دو روز در هفته درمان نوروفیدبک انجام پذیرفت. گروه گواه هیچ آموزشی دریافت نکرد. هر دو گروه در موقعیت پیش‌آزمون و پس‌آزمون با آزمون رایانه‌ای عملکرد پیوسته و آزمون اضطراب ریاضی (لانگ، 2001) ارزیابی شدند. برای تحلیل داده‌ها از آزمون تحلیل کوواریانس چندمتغیره با سطح اطمینان 95درصد (0٫05=a) در نرم‌افزار spss نسخهٔ 23 استفاده شد.یافته‌ها: بین گروه‌های آزمایش و گواه در آزمون عملکرد پیوسته (تعداد پاسخ صحیح، خطای حذف، خطای پاسخ، زمان واکنش) و اضطراب ریاضی تفاوت معنا‌داری مشاهده شد (0٫001>p)؛ بدین‌معنا که نوروفیدبک در بهبود عملکرد توجه پیوسته و کاهش اضطراب ریاضی در دانش‌آموزان مبتلا به اختلال یادگیری ریاضی موثر بوده است.نتیجه‌گیری: براساس یافته‌های پژوهش حاضر، نوروفیدبک می‌تواند به‌عنوان روشی مناسب با عوارض جانبی بسیار محدود برای افراد با اختلال یادگیری ریاضی به‌منظور بهبود عملکرد توجه پیوسته و کاهش اضطراب ریاضی آن‌ها استفاده شود.

The Effect of Neurofeedback on Continuous Attention Performance and Math Anxiety in Students with Dyscalculia

Background & Objectives: One of the most essential factors in students’ educational failure is learning disabilities. The Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) of dyscalculia refers to an inability in the skills related to calculation despite the individual being endowed with normal intelligence and adequate training. Treatment interventions in children with SLDs during primary school can help reduce some of their problems. A relatively novel method that, accompanied by other therapies, provides multiple clinical confirmations is neurofeedback. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of neurofeedback on continuous attention performance and math anxiety in students with dyscalculia.Methods: This was a quasi–experimental study with a pretest–posttest and a control group design. The statistical population consisted of all male students with dyscalculia referring to several special centers of SLDs in Tehran City, Iran, in the 2017–2018 academic year; of them, 30 students in the fourth and fifth grades of the elementary school who were eager to participate in the study were selected through convenience sampling method. Subsequently, the study subjects were randomly assigned into the experimental and control groups (n=15/group). The inclusion criteria of the research were studying in the fourth or fifth grade; male gender; possessing normal intelligence, and the diagnosis of an SLD, like dyscalculia by a psychiatrist and according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Editions (DSM–5). The exclusion criterion of the study was the presence of sensorymotor disorders. The experimental group received twenty 60–minute neurofeedback treatment twice a week; however, the control group received no training. The present study applied two treatment protocols; the first of which was alpha/theta protocol at Pz point aiming at increasing alpha and decreasing theta. The second protocol was to reinforce beta (15 to 18 Hz) and Sensorimotor Rhythm (SMR) (12–15 Hz), as well as to inhibit theta (4–7 Hz) and high beta (22–28 Hz) in C3 and C4 regions. Furthermore, both study groups were evaluated in pretest and posttest phases by the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and the Lang Math Anxiety Scale. Data analysis was conducted in SPSS using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA).Results: There was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the continuous performance test data, including the number of correct answers (p<0.001), omission error (p<0.001), response error (p<0.001), and reaction time (p<0.001), as well as mathematical anxiety (p<0.001); therefore, neurofeedback could effectively improve continuous attention and reduce math anxiety in the explored students with dyscalculia. In the continuous performance test, the neurofeedback group, compared with the controls, demonstrated less omission error (mean±SD scores of the experimental group: 2.26±1.09 & control group: 4.26±1.03), less response error (mean±SD scores of the experimental group: 3.20±0.67 & controls: 5.33±1.58), and less reaction time (mean±SD scores of the experimental group: 453.26±19.51 & controls: 690.26±25.86). However, they obtained more correct answers (mean±SD scores of the experimental group: 139.93±2.98 & controls: 127.06±3.15). Besides, math anxiety decreased in the neurofeedback group, compared with the control group (mean±SD scores of the experimental group: 5.06±1.09 & controls: 7.53±1.84).Conclusion: Based on the present research findings, neurofeedback can be used as a suitable treatment with very limited adverse effects for individuals with dyscalculia. Considering the significance of mathematics in the educational systems, the application of neurofeedback is suggested as a manner to reduce the failure of executive functions in schools.