Validity and reliability of the experimental task of Attentional Networks for neuropsychological research in the Ecuadorian context

Abstract

The main experimental tasks in the area of neuroscience and psychology have been performed in industrialized popula- tions, but they have not been developed and adapted in a Latin population. The aim of this study was to validate the attentional networks task in an Ecuadorian sample. For this purpose, a construct validity analysis was carried out through an analysis of variance and correlation between the networks; and a reliability analysis for the global components of the attentional networks. The results showed main and interaction effects proving construct validity in the population. Likewise, for the interaction vali- dity, a high significant correlation was found between all conditions of the attentional networks. For the reliability analysis, a moderate and high relationship was found for the orientation and cognitive control network, but not for the alertness network. At the end, the importance of the validation of the experimental tasks in the Latin American population and the clinical relevan- ce in the field of neuropsychology are discussed.