Child Neuropsychology最新文献

Oppositional defiant problems (ODP) and obsessive-compulsive problems (OCP) may co-occur in children, though the way they interact is not known. The aim of the study was to examine longitudinal associations between executive functions at age 3 and ODP, ODP dimensions, and OCP at age 6. The sample consisted of 622 preschoolers (50% were boys) from the general population. Executive functions were assessed by teachers using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning - Preschool version questionnaire when children were 3 years old, and ODP and OCP were informed by parents and teachers at the age of 6 years. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that higher Inhibit and Emotional Control and lower Shift deficits were associated with higher ODP reported by teachers, while higher Shift but lower Inhibit deficits were related to higher OCP. Moreover, ODP and OCP shared difficulties on the Flexibility Index, which means that the capacity to modulate emotions and behavior according to contextual and environmental demands is compromised in both disorders. The findings inform etiology and prevention, pointing out not only the executive function specificities related to each problem, but also common cognitive challenges related to Flexibility. Young children could benefit from training and programs designed to improve executive function processes at an early age to prevent later behavioral difficulties.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked progressive neuromuscular disorder with a distinct cognitive profile including decreased verbal span. Children with DMD are also at risk for lower scores on academic achievement tests and increased behavioral problems. Longitudinal analyses generally reveal a stable intellectual profile, although attention and behavioral problems may negatively impact longitudinal IQ scores. To date, no study has reported on reading over time in DMD. Reading performance was assessed longitudinally in children with DMD, examining for potential contributions to the trajectory. Retrospective data analysis on assessments completed at baseline, year 2, and year 4 on 26 boys with DMD and 27 unaffected sibling controls (age at baseline: DMD 8 ± 1.4, controls 9 ± 2.6) indicated that children with DMD performed slightly, yet significantly, worse than controls on reading skills, but the longitudinal trajectory of reading skills for children with DMD and controls was not significantly different. Verbal span at time 1 was uniquely associated with later reading skills in children with DMD. Behavior was not associated with declines. The results confirm that children with DMD underperform on reading tasks and align with previous research suggesting that cognitive skills in DMD are stable over time.

In the current study, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine functional connectivity (FC) in relation to measures of cognitive flexibility and autistic features in non-autistic children. Previous research suggests that disruptions in FC between brain regions may underlie the cognitive and behavioral traits of autism. Moreover, research has identified a broader autistic phenotype (BAP), which refers to a set of behavioral traits that fall along a continuum of behaviors typical for autism but which do not cross a clinically relevant threshold. Thus, by examining FC in relation to the BAP in non-autistic children, we can better understand the spectrum of behaviors related to this condition and their neural basis. Results indicated age-related differences in performance across three measures of cognitive flexibility, as expected given the rapid development of this skill within this time period. Additionally, results showed that across the flexibility tasks, measures of autistic traits were associated with weaker FC along the executive control network, though task performance was not associated with FC. These results suggest that behavioral scores may be less sensitive than neural measures to autistic traits. Further, these results corroborate the use of broader autistic traits and the BAP to better understand disruptions to neural function associated with autism.

This study determined the extent to which working memory (WM) played a moderating and/or mediating role in word-problem-solving (WPS) instructional outcomes between children with and without math difficulties (MD). A randomized pretest-posttest control group study investigated the effects of 8-week strategy instruction in one of four treatment conditions on WPS accuracy of third graders with MD (N = 136) when compared to children with (N = 28) and without MD (N = 43). Comparisons were made of three strategy conditions that included overt cues (e.g. underlining key sentences, filling in diagrams), another treatment condition that removed the overt cues (material-only), and two control conditions (children with and without MD). Four important findings emerged. First, posttest WM significantly predicted posttest WPS, computation, and schema accuracy independent of pretest and treatment conditions. Second, posttest WM mediated posttest WPS treatment outcomes when the control conditions included children without MD. Third, strategy conditions that included overt cues (e.g. crossing out irrelevant sentences) decreased WM demands compared to the Materials-Only condition (without overt cues) for children with MD. Finally, incremental attention allocation training within treatment conditions improved posttest WM in children with MD but not posttest WPS. Results indicated that WPS differences between children with and without MD across treatment conditions were mediated by posttest WM performance.

This study aims to investigate the association between the MIND index (Mediterranean- Dietary approaches to Stop Hypertension diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the Iranian children. It builds upon existing research that highlights the role of dietary antioxidants in alleviating psychological disorders, cognitive impairments, and memory deficits. Additionally, previous studies have separately explored the beneficial effects of the Mediterranean and DASH diets on these issues. A case-control study was undertaken in Iran, involving a sample of 360 children and adolescents aged 7-13 years. Participants were divided into two groups, namely the case group (n = 120) and the control group (n = 240), with age and sex being matched between the groups. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV-TR) was employed for the diagnosis of ADHD. The MIND diet score was computed using the food intake data acquired from the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) completed by the subjects. The mean ± SD for the age and BMI of the study population was 8.76 ± 1.64 years and 16.90 ± 3.58 kg/m2, respectively. The mean score of MIND in this study was 27.93. After adjustment for potential confounder in the final model, subjects in highest compared to the lowest quartile of MIND diet score had significantly lower odds of ADHD (OR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.37-0.83; P-trend = 0.019). This study provides valuable evidence suggesting that adherence to the MIND diet is associated with decreased odds of ADHD.

This study aimed to validate a novel parent-report measure of ADHD symptom inflation, the Parent-Reported ADHD Symptom Infrequency Scale (PRASIS), in a clinical sample. The PRASIS is composed of an Infrequency subscale and an ADHD subscale. Online participants were assigned to one of three groups: mothers of children with diagnosed ADHD (n = 110), mothers of children with diagnosed ODD and/or anxiety (n = 116), and mothers of children without ADHD, ODD, or anxiety. The third group was then randomized to either receive instructions to complete the questionnaire honestly (controls, n = 164) or to complete the questionnaire as if they were trying to convince a provider that their child has ADHD (simulators, n = 141). Results indicated good to excellent internal consistency (INF α = .83, ADHD Total α = .93); strong convergent validity of the PRASIS ADHD scale with the ADHD Rating Scale-5 (r(529) = .85, p < .001); excellent group discrimination of the PRASIS Infrequency scale and the PRASIS ADHD scale (η² = 0.38-0.42); and specificity of 86.7, sensitivity of 67.4%, and an AUC of .86 for the Infrequency scale. Overall, these outcomes supported the utility of the PRASIS in samples including mothers of children with psychiatric diagnoses of ODD and/or anxiety.

Social deficits in pediatric cancer survivors have been well documented and have been linked to neurocognitive late effects, particularly attention deficits. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between components of attention, both parent-report and a performance-based measure, with parent-reported social functioning in survivors of pediatric cancer. The study included data from outpatient neuropsychological evaluations of 76 survivors of pediatric cancer. The Integrated Visual and Auditory (IVA) continuous performance test was used to evaluate the components of attention with variables corresponding to Posner's model of attention. Assessment of inattention and peer problems were derived from the Conner's Parent Rating Scale, third edition. Parent-reported attention symptoms were significantly associated with worse auditory prudence (r = -0.382, p < .001) and visual consistency (r = -0.234, p = .046) and higher parent-reported peer problems (r = 0.302, p = .008). Auditory attention domains were not significantly predictive of peer problems (p > .05). When controlling for FSIQ and type of cancer, worse visual consistency (p = .029) and visual speed (p = .036) were significantly associated with more peer problems. Parent-reported inattention was associated with only some domains of performance-based attention, highlighting the importance of using multi-modal assessments of attention. This study also revealed an important relationship between visual attention and peer problems.

The Tower of London, Drexel Version, Second Edition (TOL-DX) is purported to measure multiple aspects of executive functions, although it also possesses inherent non-executive demands. Such complexity makes it useful in detecting impairment but difficult in interpreting the neurocognitive cause of impairment, particularly in children. This study investigated the developmental, neurocognitive, and symptom correlates of the TOL-DX in children and adolescents with neuropsychiatric disorders. Two-hundred and thirty-three children and adolescents (7-21 years old) completed the TOL-DX during a neuropsychological evaluation as part of clinical care within a children's psychiatric hospital. Pearson correlation, regression models, and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses examined the association among variables. Visuospatial and executive functions (EF) were most consistently related to total moves, execution time, and violations. TOL-DX variables were associated with attention in younger participants and EF in older participants. No TOL-DX scores were related to parent-reported symptoms. The TOL-DX possesses inherent visuospatial and attention/executive demands in children and adolescents which are difficult to differentiate, differ by age group, and not associated to clinical symptoms. Taken together, the TOL-DX is complex to interpret, but psychometrically sound and sensitive to neurocognitive impairment in children and adolescents with transdiagnostic neuropsychiatric disorders.

The Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment - II (NEPSY-II) is a widely used assessment battery in pediatric settings, but its internal structure has not been adequately examined. This study employed a rational, empirical approach to examine the construct validity of 23 NEPSY-II subtest scores from children ages 7-12 (M = 9.99, SD = 2.76) in the NEPSY-II norming sample (N = 600; 50% girls). Competing higher-order models based on prior research, hypothesized NEPSY-II domains, and conceptual subtest classifications were evaluated via confirmatory factor analysis and a sequential approach to model comparisons. The results supported the multidimensionality of NEPSY-II subtests and the organization of subtests by hypothesized neuropsychological domains. The best fitting model included a general factor and four first-order factors. Factor loadings from the general factor to first-order factors were very strong. However, general factor loadings for most subtests were less than .50 (range = .21-.69, M = .44), and domain-specific effects for all subtests, independent of the general factor, were even lower (range = .00-.45, M = .44). Interestingly, all subtests demonstrated strong subtest-specific effects, but it is not clear what construct(s) the subtest-specific effects represent. Findings support NEPSY-II authors' emphasis on subtest-level interpretations rather than composite-level interpretations and highlight that NEPSY-II subtest scores should be interpreted carefully and with caution.

This study uses fNIRS to determine whether there is a difference in the relationship between intra-individual variability and frontal lobe activity between ADHD patients and typically developing children. A total of 28 subjects (14 in ADHD patient group and 14 in control group) participated in this study. The subjects were tested for K-SADS and intelligence, and then the frontal lobe activity of the subjects was measured by continuous performance test, using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRSIT). Processing speed index was significantly lower in the ADHD patient group than in the control group (p = .04). The CPT test results showed a positive correlation in the activity of the right dorsolateral prefrontal region in the patient group, but not at a statistically significant level. In the control group, activity showed a significant level of negative correlation with commission and hit reaction time standard deviation (p = .023; p = .063 respectively). In contrary to ADHD patient group, activation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal area was significantly correlated with reduction of intra-individual variability. This result showing that the relationship between activation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal area of the ADHD patient group and intra-individual variability shows a different pattern from typically developing children.