Applied Neuropsychology: Child最新文献

Sensory processing (SP) difficulties, such as heightened sensitivity to sensory input, have been linked to prolonged recovery and persistent post-concussive symptoms in adults following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). However, research on SP across different sensory inputs after pediatric mTBI is limited. This study examined SP patterns in children and adolescents aged 6-17 years with mTBI at 2 weeks and 6 months post-injury. Caregivers of children aged 6-11 years (n = 120) completed the Short Sensory Profile - Dutch version (SSP-NL), while adolescents aged 12-17 years (n = 121) completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile - Dutch version (AASP-NL), and scores were compared to normative data. Multilevel latent class growth analysis (MLCGA) identified four SP classes in children: (1) taste and smell sensitivity, (2) general hypersensitivity, (3) general hyposensitivity, and (4) under responsiveness with auditory filtering issues. Class 2 showed lower Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP) scores. SP changes over time were limited, with persistent issues (of hyper- and hyposensitivity) at 6 months. For adolescents, two classes were found: (1) avoidant and passive, and (2) mild, with Class 1 showing lower CASP scores. Class 2 exhibited reductions in poor registration, sensory sensitivity, and sensation avoidance over time. These findings highlight inter-individual differences in SP after pediatric mTBI, with subgroups differing in how they affect activities and participation. Early identification of SP issues may help tailor more effective interventions.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of vestibular exercises in enhancing auditory memory and auditory discrimination in high-functioning children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods: Employing a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, the study recruited 20 children aged 6-8 years with confirmed diagnoses of high-functioning autism from psychology clinics in Tehran in 2024, using convenience sampling. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 10), which underwent vestibular training, or a control group (n = 10) that received no intervention. Auditory discrimination was evaluated using the Weppman Auditory Discrimination Test, while auditory memory was assessed through Continuous Performance Testing (CPT) software. Data analysis was performed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) via SPSS version 24.

Results: The experimental group exhibited statistically significant improvements in both auditory memory and auditory discrimination relative to the control group (p = 0.001), confirming the efficacy of vestibular training.

Conclusion: Vestibular exercises markedly improve auditory processing capacities in high-functioning children with ASD. These results underscore the potential benefit of incorporating vestibular-based interventions into therapeutic protocols aimed at enhancing communication and cognitive outcomes in children on the autism spectrum.

In the past decade, studies on the association between inhibitory control (IC) and mathematical skills in early childhood have grown significantly. However, no subsequent review has been conducted since a decade ago. This systematic review synthesizes research up to 2025 from eight countries, primarily the United States, involving 10,061 children aged 3.5 to 7 years. The review highlights significant methodological diversity in the tools used to assess IC-such as peg-tapping, Go/No-Go, and Stroop tasks-and mathematical abilities, ranging from object counting to standardized tests like TEMA-3 and Woodcock-Johnson. Findings indicate a generally significant yet variable relationship between IC and early mathematical skills. Most studies suggest a moderate relationship, with some showing weaker or stronger associations. Notably, Attentional IC, the ability to suppress attention to distracting stimuli, shows a slightly stronger and more consistent association with mathematical performance than response inhibition, understood as the ability to suppress dominant motor responses. Methodological challenges include variations in IC tasks, participant age ranges, and potential publication bias. Future research should standardize methodologies, utilize longitudinal designs, and be conducted in less developed countries to provide deeper insights into how IC impacts mathematical development. These findings highlight the need for further research to inform targeted educational strategies and interventions, especially in diverse socioeconomic and developmental contexts.

Background: Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) perform visual attention tasks differently compared to neurotypicals. In this study, differences of brain connectome during visual attention were compared between ADHD and neurotypicals using multichannel electrocardiogram (EEG) recordings and graph theory.

Methods: A minimum spanning tree (MST) graph based on similarities in EEG data from different brain areas was constructed for both neurotypical and ADHD groups. Features of MST were extracted in different EEG frequency sub-bands. The discriminative capability of MST extracted features was assessed using a classification approach. By comparing graph features between ADHD and neurotypicals, differences between brain processing mechanisms were investigated.

Results: Features extracted from the MST graph achieved a perfect discrimination between individuals with ADHD and neurotypicals (accuracy = 100%, AUC = 1). This result was consistent across multiple classifiers and different types of similarity measures used for graph construction. The most discriminative MST graph features were identified in the alpha band. Significantly reduced leaf number, mean eccentricity, radius, and diameter in the high alpha were the main results. Furthermore, the results revealed lack of frontal processing hubs and weaker frontoparietal connection in the ADHD group.

Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that MST graph features were ideal candidates for investigating underlying mechanisms of ADHD.

Background: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) presents severe clinical challenges due to its severe outcomes and diagnostic complexities. Recent studies suggest cognitive functions may also be affected. This study evaluates cognitive functions in MIS-C survivors over 12 months and explores the relationship with inflammatory markers.

Methods: This prospective observational cohort study included children diagnosed with MIS-C hospitalized in a tertiary pediatric care unit. Follow-ups were conducted at one month, six months, and twelve months post-hospitalization using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), D2 Test of Attention, Visual Aural Digit Span, Bender Gestalt, and STROOP Color-Word Time tests. Demographic, admission, and follow-up data, including inflammatory markers, were collected.

Results: The study included 22 patients with a median age of 10.5 years, of whom 63.6% were male. Cognitive assessments showed a significant improvement in the TN-E subscore of the D2 attention test from the first month to the sixth month (p = 0.009). However, no significant differences were observed in other cognitive tests conducted in the first and sixth months. Correlation analyses revealed significant negative correlations between white blood cells, absolute neutrophil count, and the FR subscore of the D2 attention test in the first month, indicating lower attention scores with higher levels of these markers. Positive correlations were found between absolute lymphocyte count and WISC-IV subscores of symbol search and comprehension.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates significant correlations between inflammatory markers and cognitive outcomes in children with MIS-C over twelve months. The findings underscore the potential long-term impact of MIS-C on cognitive functions and highlight the importance of monitoring cognitive health in these patients.

Objectives: This study investigated emotional intelligence as a mediator between theory of mind and executive functions in children with visual impairment.

Method: Two hundred and ten children with visual impairments participated, 120 males and 90 females, aged 10 13 years (M = 11.1, SD = 4.67), Madinah City, Saudi Arabia. Research data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation), inferential statistics (Pearson correlation), and structural equation modeling analysis using AMOS 24/4 software. Pearson correlation was used for linear correlation between continuous variables. The mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS SPSS Macro version 4.2, model 4 for SPSS, a regression-based approach for testing mediation effects.

Results: Theory of mind has a positive and significant effect on emotional intelligence, cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control in children with visual impairment (Standard coefficient = 4.445, 4.129, 4.010, 4.105, respectively, P-Value = 0.001). Also, emotional intelligence has a positive and significant effect on cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control in children with visual impairment.

Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that theory of mind and emotional intelligence have a direct relationship with the components of executive functions in children with visual impairment.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder in children, impacting academic performance, social interactions, and overall well-being. Early and accurate diagnosis is crucial, yet current methods rely heavily on subjective assessments. This study presents a novel Wavelet-Attention deep model for objective ADHD diagnosis using electroencephalography signals. The model integrates a wavelet transform for feature extraction with a deep residual network (ResNet) augmented by an attention mechanism to enhance focus on salient features. Rigorous preprocessing, including Independent Component Analysis for artifact removal, was applied to a publicly available dataset of 121 children. To ensure a robust and clinically relevant evaluation that avoids data leakage, a strict Leave-One-Subject-Out cross-validation protocol was employed. The proposed model demonstrated strong diagnostic performance, achieving an accuracy of 96.69%, a sensitivity of 95.08%, and a specificity of 98.33% in distinguishing between children with ADHD and healthy controls. Furthermore, model-agnostic interpretability analysis revealed that features derived from frontal lobe channels and low-frequency wavelet coefficients were most critical for the model's decisions, aligning with established neurophysiological markers of ADHD. The results suggest that this approach holds significant potential for developing a reliable and objective diagnostic tool for ADHD, facilitating earlier and more personalized interventions.

Background: Specific Language Impairment (SLI), increasingly termed Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), affects 7-10% of children worldwide. Despite expanding research, no comprehensive bibliometric analysis has systematically examined this field's evolution.

Methods: We analyzed 4,966 SLI/DLD-related publications (2010-2024) from the Web of Science Core Collection using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and bibliometrix to assess publication trends, collaboration networks, citation patterns, and research themes.

Results: Publication output increased 256% over the study period, with the United States (41.1%) and England (13.1%) dominating contributions. The University of Toronto, University of Melbourne, and University College London emerged as leading institutions. The Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research(JSLHR) was most influential. Research evolved through three phases: linguistic components (2012-2016), neurodevelopmental mechanisms (2016-2020), and holistic therapies (2020-2024). Key themes included methodological frameworks, comorbidities with neurodevelopmental disorders, and intervention strategies.

Conclusion: This first comprehensive bibliometric analysis reveals SLI/DLD research evolving from isolated linguistic investigations toward integrated neurodevelopmental frameworks and therapeutic approaches. The field shows increasing recognition of shared mechanisms across developmental conditions and growing emphasis on early intervention. Our findings highlight critical research directions including expanded international collaboration, cross-disorder research exploring shared neurobiological mechanisms, longitudinal intervention studies, and technology-enhanced assessment methodologies.

Objectives: The aim was to investigate the impact of repeated read-aloud teaching strategy on executive function and basic early literacy skills of preschool children.

Methods: The study sample consisted of 60 children. All participants were preschoolers. There are four classes a week, each lasting 30 minutes, for a total of 36 classes. The same picture book was read aloud three times, and the reading time was scheduled on three different school days: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Results: Differences existed between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups in the pretest and post-test. Children in experimental group outperformed those in the control group in all dimensions of executive function tasks (inhibitory control, working memory, dimensional change card sorting task) and all dimensions of dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills (the letter naming fluency, phonemic segmentation fluency, nonsense word fluency, word reading fluency, and oral reading fluency.

Conclusions: In order to analyze the impact of integrated executive function language teaching on children's executive function and oral comprehension ability, after adopting a quasi-experimental teaching design, it was found that integrated executive function teaching is helpful to improve children's basic early literacy skills and executive function performance.

Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) is associated with a wide range of visual deficits that can be difficult to identify in young children. Parental observations are essential for the early screening and diagnostic assessment of CVI. However, most existing CVI (screening) questionnaires are designed for children aged 6 years and older. This study aimed to (1) explore how CVI manifests in the daily lives of preschool children and (2) develop a preschool CVI screening list. In total, 118 parents of children aged 2-5 years with CVI (n = 30), at risk of CVI (n = 22), and neurotypical children (n = 66) completed two questionnaires: the Parental Questionnaire for Cerebral Visual Impairment (PQCVI) and a new Preschool version of the Visio-CVI-Inventory (V-CVI-I). Parent-reported difficulties were compared across groups at questionnaire, category, and item level. Items were evaluated on three criteria: (1) Discriminability (A' ≥ .75, CVI vs. neurotypical), (2) Relevance (≥ 25% of the CVI-group showing difficulties), (3) Exclusivity (≤10% the neurotypical group showing difficulties). Parents of children with CVI reported significantly more daily visual difficulties, particularly in global and local visual selective attention and visuomotor processing. The Preschool V-CVI-I showed excellent internal consistency (a = .91) and stronger discriminative ability than the PQCVI. Our results indicate that daily visual deficits are already observable in preschool children with CVI and resemble the difficulties previously reported in older children with CVI. A new 10-item Preschool CVI Screening List is proposed to support early recognition and referral for further diagnostics.