Variation
of behavioral and physiological variables in
children attending kindergarten and primary
school
Koch P, Montagner H
Twenty-one children aged 5-6 years (mean
age: 71.2 months; S.D. = 2.7) were videotaped in
4 different kindergartens throughout the school
day for a period of one week.
Eighteen of these children were then
followed up after the summer holidays and
videotaped for one week while attending the
first year of primary school. The behaviors
measured for each child were yawning and
general motor activity.
It was found that:
(1) The frequency of yawning appears to be 5
times higher in the first year of primary school
than in the last year of kindergarten;
(2) Throughout the school-day the percentage
of yawning children is higher in the first year
of primary school, with the exception of the
1400-1430 period;
(3) In the first year of primary school, the
percentage of yawning children and the frequency
of yawning peak between 900 and 930 and 1430 and
1500;
(4) In this school institution the
percentage of children who get up from their
chair and spontaneously move above increases
from the beginning to the end of each
school-day. Three cardio-vascular variables were
investigated in 17 children of the sample
population: heart rate, systolic and diastolic
blood pressure.
We found that:
(1) The lowest values for heart rate in the
first year of primary school are in agreement
with the classical data of child development, as
the children are 5-6 months older than in the
last year of kindergarten. However, this is not
the case at 1400 when the heart rate peaks at a
higher level in the first year of primary
school;
(2) If the evolution in time of the blood
pressure agrees in both institutions with the
classical data of human chronobiology, i.e. the
maximum values at 1400, the differences in mean
level at all times during the school day between
both institutions do not agree with what is
commonly accepted, i.e. an increase in blood
pressure with age;
(3) The amplitude of the variations of the
heart rate and blood pressure from one 30-min
period to another throughout the school day is
significantly higher in primary school. The
comparson of the data obtained in both school
institutions suggests that the observed
differences are related to sharp modifications
in school rhythms and constraints when the
children go from the last year of kindergarten
to the first year of primary school.
Brumback RA.
Weinberg's syndrome: a disorder of attention and
behavior problems needing further research.
Child Neurol. 2000;15(7)478-480.
Koch P. Variation of
behavioral and physiological variables in
children attending kindergarten and primary
school. Chronobiol Int. 1987;4(4):525-535.
Weinberg WA,
Brumback RA Primary disorder of vigilance: a
novel explanation of inattentiveness,
daydreaming, boredom, restlessness, and
sleepiness. J Pediatr. 1990;116(5):720-725.
Comment in: J Pediatr. 1991;118(3):489-490.
Graybiel, A. and J.
Knepton
Sopite
syndrome: a sometimes sole manifestation of
motion sickness
Aviat Space Environ Med 1976 47(8): 873-82.
Drowsiness is one of the cardinal symptoms of
motion sickness; therefore, a symptom-complex
centering around "drowsiness" has been
identified which, for convenience, has been
termed the sopite syndrome. Generally, the
symptoms characterizing this syndrome are
interwoven with other symptoms but under two
circumstances the sopite syndrome comprises the
main or sole overt manifestation of motion
sickness. One circumstance is that in which the
intensity of the eliciting stimuli is closely
matched to a person's susceptibility, and the
sopite syndrome is evoked either before other
symptoms of motion sickness appear or in their
absence. The second circumstance occurs during
prolonged exposure in a motion environment when
adaptation results in the disappearance of
motion sickness symptoms, except for responses
characterizing the sopite syndrome. Typical
symptoms of the syndrome are: 1) yawning,
2) drowsiness, 3) disinclination for work,
either physical or mental, and 4) lack of
participation in group activities. Phenomena
derived from an analysis of the symptomatology
of the sopite syndrome are qualitatively similar
but may differ quantitatively from abstractions
derived in other motion sickness responses. One
example is the sometimes unique time course of
the sopite syndrome. This implies that the
immediate eliciting mechanisms not only differ
from those involved in evoking other symptoms,
but, also, that they must represent first order
responses. Diagnosis is difficult unless the
syndrome under discussion is kept in mind.
Prevention poses a greater problem than
treatment.
