Developmental Neuropsychology最新文献

Intellectual abilities factor into levels of functioning used to characterize autism. Language difficulties are highly prevalent in autism and may impact performance on measures of intellectual abilities. As such, nonverbal tests are often prioritized in classifying intelligence in those with language difficulties and autism. However, the relationship between language abilities and intellectual performance is not well characterized, and the superiority of tests with nonverbal instructions is not well established. The current study evaluates verbal and nonverbal intellectual abilities in the context of language abilities in autism and the potential benefit of tests with nonverbal instructions. Participants were 55 children and adolescents on the autism spectrum who underwent a neuropsychological evaluation as part of a study examining language functioning in autism. Correlation analyses were performed to examine relations between expressive and receptive language abilities. Language abilities (CELF-4) were significantly correlated with all measures of both verbal (WISC-IV VCI) and nonverbal intelligence scores (WISC-IV PRI and Leiter-R). There were no significant differences between nonverbal intelligence measures with verbal or nonverbal instructions. We further discuss the role of assessment of language abilities in interpreting results of intelligence testing in populations with higher prevalence of language difficulties.

T-tests from 42 brain tumor patients showed adaptive functioning below normative means at both time points (test interval M=2.60y, SD=1.32). Neurological risk, time since diagnosis,age at diagnosis, age at evaluation, and time since evaluation were correlated with specific adaptive skills. There was a main effect of age at diagnosis, age at assessment, time since diagnosis, and neurological risk as well as an interaction of age at diagnosis × neurological risk for specific adaptive skills. Results highlight the importance of considering the relationship between developmental and medical variables on changes in adaptive functioning in survivors of pediatric brain tumors.

Pediatric cancer survivors (PCS) experience functional difficulties and brain alterations. However, little is known about cerebral perfusion and its relationship to functional outcome (cognitive and motor performance) in PCS. We examined cerebral blood flow (CBF) in non-brain tumor PCS and the associations between CBF and age, as well as functional outcome. Forty PCS and 40 age-comparable controls were included. CBF did not differ between PCS and controls. CBF decreased with age only in controls. In PCS, CBF was associated with functional outcome. Our data indicate an altered relationship between age and CBF in survivors, with stronger brain-behavior mechanisms after cancer.

This study evaluated the factor structure of attention, considering internal and external attention, and juxtaposed alongside processing speed (PS) and working memory (WM). We expected the hypothesized model to fit better than unitary or method factors. We included 27 measures with 212 Hispanic middle schoolers from Spanish-speaking backgrounds, where a substantial proportion were at risk for learning difficulties. Confirmatory factor analytic models separated factors of PS and WM, but the final model did not align with theoretical predictions; rather only measurement factors emerged. Findings extend and refine our understanding of the structure of attention in adolescents.

Background: Inhibition (Response Inhibition - RI and Interference Control - IC) have been inconsistently examined in Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) with response modalities often not considered.

Aims: To examine RI and IC in children with DCD.

Method: Twenty-five children 6-10 years with DCD, plus 25 matched typically developing peers completed motor and verbal RI and IC tasks. .

Results: Children with DCD made significantly more errors in the motor and verbal RI tasks, had slower movement time and RT in the motor IC task, and longer completion time in the verbal IC task.

Conclusions: Children with DCD have RI and IC difficulties in motor and verbal responses.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing individuals were assessed on three neuropsychological tests of executive function (EF) and on scales of autism symptoms and co-occurring internalizing and externalizing symptoms at baseline (T1; N = 88, M_age = 11.8 years, 73% males), 2-year (T2; 99% retention, M_age = 13.9 years), and 10-year follow-ups (T3; 75% retention, M_age = 21.4 years). An EF composite score from T1 significantly predicted internalizing symptoms at T2 (β = .228) and internalizing and externalizing symptoms at T3 (β = .431 and .478, respectively), when controlling for age and autism symptoms. OThe findings suggest that EF difficulties are a long-term risk factor for more co-occurring symptoms. .

Siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) are exposed to unique family environments and experience a range of psychosocial risk and resilience factors. Networks of self-reported risk, resilience, and neuropsychiatric variables were estimated for siblings of individuals with (n = 235) and without (n = 480) NDCs (N = 715, mean age 22.40 years, 76% female, 74% White Caucasian). The NDC group reported more depressive (g = 0.39) and anxious (g = 0.43) symptoms than controls, and 71.5% of the NDC group reported at least one neuropsychiatric diagnosis compared to 36.9% of controls. Self-reported sleep and post-traumatic stress disorders were high amongst NDC siblings. Everyday executive functioning difficulties (cognitive inflexibility, hyperactivity/impulsivity) and emotion dysregulation were the most influential transdiagnostic risk factors for poorer functioning within the NDC group network.

The aim of this study was to discover the effects of COVID-19 on the mental health, academic life, social life of students and discover their interrelationships at a boarding school in New Jersey, USA. A majority of participants reported that COVID-19 had a negative effect on their mental health and social lives, felt well informed about COVID-19 cases on campus, and were unconcerned about getting COVID-19 at school. Given the correlations and differences observed, it is likely that some groups of adolescents may be at greater risk of impacted mental health as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. .

Executive functions allow the regulation of behavior and emotions. This study aimed to analyze the association of executive functions with externalizing and internalizing behaviors in 30 Mexican preschoolers with typical development (age M = 53.63 months; SD = 7.83 months; 40% girls) from homes of middle-low socioeconomic status. Behavioral and cognitive measures were used to assess executive functions and analyzed them using robust statistical methods. We found that executive functions are related to externalizing and internalizing behaviors at the behavioral level. Only Forward Digit Span predicts attentional problems. Individual differences in children's cognitive development in a Mexican context were adressed, and they have clinical and educational implications.

This study aimed to clarify the value of using different types of validity measures in pediatric neuropsychological evaluations. We examined the relationship between performance (PVT) and symptom (SVT) validity tests as well as demographic variables and results from a screening test of learning and memory (i.e. Child and Adolescent Memory Profile [ChAMP]) in a mixed pediatric sample (n = 103). There was minimal overlap between PVT and SVT failures. Regression analyses demonstrated that PVT results, parental education, and history of special education were statistically significant predictors of ChAMP results, whereas SVT results were not.