COGNITIVE ABILITY ANALYSIS IN CHILDREN INDICATED WITH STUNTING IN EAST NUSA TENGGARA THROUGH BRAINWAVE MEASUREMENT AND PUZZLE TEST

• Main Author: Alif Farhan, A.Muh.
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Ilmu hayati ; Biologi
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/74664
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The high prevalence of malnutrition among children remains one of the primary issues faced by Indonesia to this day. Stunting, characterized by impaired body growth due to inadequate nutrition over a prolonged period, has a significant impact on the physical growth and cognitive development of children. This study aims to investigate the influence of stunting on cognitive abilities by comparing the results of geometric puzzle tests and the power spectral density (PSD) of gamma brainwaves between children identified as stunted and non-stunted. The puzzle test assesses cognitive abilities based on (a) difficulty level, (b) latency, and (c) puzzle completion score. The geometric puzzle test was performed simultaneously with MuseTM EEG recording on 44 elementary school students aged 6-8 years, classified based on nutritional status and data collection location (Takari District and Kupang City). Kruskal Wallis test was used to analyze differences in latency and puzzle completion time, while one-way ANOVA was employed to analyze differences in puzzle test scores and PSD values of gamma brainwaves between stunted and non-stunted children. The research findings demonstrate significant differences (p < 0.05) in the results of the geometric puzzle test, indicating that stunted children had lower puzzle completion times, slower latency, and lower scores compared to non-stunted children. This suggests that stunting has an impact on the cognitive development of children in recognizing and remembering geometric shapes. The differences are also evident in the gamma brainwave activity (p < 0.05), with stunted children displaying lower PSD values compared to non-stunted children during the geometric puzzle test. The reduced gamma brainwave activity signifies difficulties in understanding, processing, and remembering information. In conclusion, stunting has a negative impact on the cognitive development of children in terms of their ability to recognize, understand, and remember shapes. However, further cognitive testing is required to examine the effects of stunting on other cognitive abilities.