FACTOR ANALYSIS OF INDIVIDUAL-TYPOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AGED 5–7 YEARS

Abstract

Objective: to carry out a factor analysis of neurodynamic, sensorimotor properties, and psychophysiological development of children of preschool and primary school age. Intensive formation of psychophysiological functions, especially memory and attention, is a characteristic feature of the age period of preschool and junior school age. The changes over time in these functions will depend on the individual typological properties of the central nervous system.

Therefore, the development of sensorimotor and neurodynamic properties reflects the process of biological formation of the evolutionary formation of cognitive functions, which are influenced by a number of various factors of exogenous and endogenous origin, such as education, upbringing, etc. Taking into account the importance of the influence of neurophysiological mechanisms and their connection with the processes of formation of individual-typological properties, a number of regularities of the peculiarities of the development of psychophysiological functions of 5-7-year-old children were established.

Material and methods. 108 children took part in the study: 36 five-year-olds, 34 six-year-olds, and 38 seven-year-olds. The examination was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the WMA Declaration of Helsinki and with the consent of the parents. The research plan includes the determination of neurodynamic and sensorimotor properties of the nervous system on the Diahnost-1M device. The regulatory influence of the autonomic nervous system on the heart rhythm was studied using the Fazahraf instrumental technique. The method included the collection and analysis of electrical potentials, as well as spectral characteristics of regulatory functions, which allows obtaining significant statistical indicators of heart rhythm. This makes it possible to evaluate the interaction between the ANS and cardiac activity, as well as to identify the peculiarities of the functioning of the nervous system in children.

Considering the stages of the research and the heterogeneity of the variables, mathematical data processing was multi-level. This is explained by the fact that most of the data, due to significant asymmetry and a small degree of discretization, did not meet the conditions of the law of normal distribution. The use of multi-level processing made it possible to more accurately evaluate the results and take into account all the specific features of the data.

To study the functions of attention, we used the generally accepted technique "Correction test" in a modification that allows you to assess the level of concentration, mental productivity, accuracy of task performance, and the amount of attention in children.

The study of voluntary visual and auditory memory was determined according to generally accepted methods that allow determining the maximum number of symbols. For this, 10 pictures and 10 words were used, which provides a comprehensive assessment of children's memory. These techniques make it possible to reveal the ability to remember and reproduce information in various forms.

Results. It was established that for 5-year-old children, the main influencing factor is heart rate (HR) and their statistical indicators, while a simple visual-motor reaction of choice is an additional factor.

When analyzing the 6-year-old examinees, the picture was similar to the 5-year-old, but the influencing factors of neurodynamic indicators were not found in any group of components. Thus, factor analysis in 6-year-old children confirms the stable role of indicators of the cardiovascular system in ensuring mental activity.

The allocation of the main components in 7-year-old children had some differences compared to younger children. It is important to note that the index of short-term visual memory became significant in this group. Thus, in 7-year-old children, in addition to indicators of the cardiovascular system, indicators of psychophysiological functions also begin to appear.

Conclusions. The study of psychophysiological functions of children aged 5-7 years revealed important regularities that emphasize the importance of cardiac activity as the main factor that ensures mental activity. The heart rate (HR) was a particularly important indicator, which allows us to assess the degree of stress during the performance of intellectual tasks. The results indicate the dependence of the development of psychophysiological functions on the individual-typological properties of the central nervous system and the influence of the educational environment. This opens new opportunities for optimizing educational processes and individualizing approaches to raising and teaching children, which makes this research relevant for pedagogical workers, psychologists, scientists, etc