Cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome with long-term features of autism spectrum disorder: evidence in a 9-year-old girl after vermian medulloblastoma surgery.
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The time course of socio-communicative disturbances in children after posterior fossa tumor resection is variable in clinical reports, and its assessment may help to understand the role of the cerebellum in the pathogenesis of socio-communicative disorders and improve rehabilitation plans. We report the 3-year cognitive-behavioral follow-up of a female patient (LZ) who underwent surgical ablation of the vermis due to medulloblastoma at age 9. LZ developed a severe post-operative Cerebellar Cognitive Affective Syndrome (CCAS) with cognitive-executive dysfunctions and behavioral alterations resembling an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)-like syndrome. The lack of empathy and reduced ability to recognize others' intentions and mental states persisted at follow-up evaluations, as did language alterations. The present case report evidenced that lesions affecting cerebellar and vermal lobules may cause severe CCAS and impairment of social skills overlapping with that observed in ASD. This case is significant in its clinical features, revealing long-term social impairment, while the cognitive, linguistic, and executive functioning improved over time. Prospective case studies should plan the evaluation of symptoms of ASD within the clinical longitudinal assessment.
期刊介绍:
The purposes of Child Neuropsychology are to:
publish research on the neuropsychological effects of disorders which affect brain functioning in children and adolescents,
publish research on the neuropsychological dimensions of development in childhood and adolescence and
promote the integration of theory, method and research findings in child/developmental neuropsychology.
The primary emphasis of Child Neuropsychology is to publish original empirical research. Theoretical and methodological papers and theoretically relevant case studies are welcome. Critical reviews of topics pertinent to child/developmental neuropsychology are encouraged.
Emphases of interest include the following: information processing mechanisms; the impact of injury or disease on neuropsychological functioning; behavioral cognitive and pharmacological approaches to treatment/intervention; psychosocial correlates of neuropsychological dysfunction; definitive normative, reliability, and validity studies of psychometric and other procedures used in the neuropsychological assessment of children and adolescents. Articles on both normal and dysfunctional development that are relevant to the aforementioned dimensions are welcome. Multiple approaches (e.g., basic, applied, clinical) and multiple methodologies (e.g., cross-sectional, longitudinal, experimental, multivariate, correlational) are appropriate. Books, media, and software reviews will be published.