Table 2.
Each of the areas of impairment seen in the High-Pb, Mod-Pb, and succimer-only groups, followed by the specific finding upon which the functional inference is based.
| Area of dysfunction (specific measure) | Alleviated by succimer? |
|---|---|
| High-Pb group | |
| Impaired learning ability | |
| Visual discrimination task: rate of decline of percent errors | N |
| Attention task 1: rate of decline of percent premature responses | I |
| Impaired Inhibitory control | |
| Attention task 1: increased percent premature responses in final block of sessions | N |
| Sustained attention task: percent premature responses (throughout all sessions) | N |
| Increased disruption following errors (impaired arousal regulation) | |
| Attention task 1: increased alcove latency in first block of sessions | Y |
| Attention task 1: increased response latency in first block of sessions | Y |
| Sustained attention task: increased omission errors on post-error trials | Y |
| Lapses in attention (pattern of group differences as a function of cue duration) | I |
| Early session increase in omission errors (transition problems → attention dysfunction) | I |
| Mod-Pb Group | |
| Impaired learning ability | |
| Visual discrimination task: rate of decline of percent errors | Y |
| Attention task 1: rate of decline of percent premature responses | Y |
| Succimer-only group | |
| Impaired learning ability: visual discrimination task (rate of decline of percent errors) | |
| Attentional dysfunction: attention task 1 (increased percent inaccurate responses) | |
| Lapses in attention (pattern of effects as a function of cue duration) | |
| Sustained attention task | |
| Selective attention task | |
| Impaired arousal regulation | |
| Selective attention task: group differences greatest on post-error distraction trials | |
| Higher rate of errors on nondistraction trials in selective attention task than in baseline task | |
For the High-Pb and Mod-Pb groups, the right-hand column indicates whether succimer treatment significantly alleviated the dysfunction (Y), did not significantly alleviate dysfunction (N), or produced a level of performance that was intermediate (I; i.e., not significantly different from either the control group or their vehicle-treated counterparts).