Cognitive Development in sub-Saharan Africa problematic, study shows

New research from the University of Liverpool highlights problems impacting on the cognitive development of children in sub-Saharan Africa. Cognitive function includes a wide range of processes including perception, memory, attention and behavioural control, with some of these processes not being fully developed until early adulthood. Over a period of two-and-a-half years researchers from the University's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease , led by Dr Paul Knox , studied the longitudinal development of children in the city of Blantyre, Malawi, who had suffered from cerebral malaria (one of the severest forms of malaria) and compared them to local children who had not. Anti-saccade test Malaria presents a substantial global health challenge, with an estimated annual incidence of approximately two million cases and over 600,000 deaths per year. Most deaths occur in children under five years of age, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. To assess the children, a particular type of eye movement test, the anti-saccade test, was used. The participant fixates on a small, central, dot; a second dot is then presented to either left or right of centre.