ABSTRACT
Although both attentional and memorial abilities undergo dramatic development during the first year of postnatal life (see Nelson, 1995, 1997; Ruff & Rothbart, 1996), significant improvements in both domains continue through childhood. With regard to attention, for example, the more volitional aspects of attention, such as spontaneous alternation, vigilance, selective attention, and sustained attention, begin to appear during the second half of the first year of life and continue to mature well into the school age period (Enns, 1990; Enns & Cameron, 1987; Johnson, 1990; Johnson, Posner, & Rothbart, 1991; Lane & Pearson, 1982; Ruff & Rothbart, 1996). These systems appear to rely primarily on frontal, prefrontal, and limbic circuitry. Coincidentally, these same brain areas (particularly prefrontal and limbic) have also been implicated in memory development. It is not surprising, therefore, that although memory improves significantly during the first 1–2 postnatal years, continued improvement is observed through the middle childhood years.
