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Published on: July 17, 2017
Porteus Maze performance following traumatic brain injury in children
H S Levin1, J Song, L Ewing-Cobbs
1Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. hlevin@bcm.tmc.edu
Insights
The Porteus Maze Test effectively identifies planning deficits in children with traumatic brain injury (TBI), correlating with injury severity and prefrontal lesion volume. Receptive vocabulary showed less sensitivity to specific lesion locations.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children can lead to persistent cognitive deficits.
- Planning abilities are crucial for daily functioning and academic success in children.
- Understanding the neuroanatomical correlates of cognitive impairments after pediatric TBI is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the sensitivity of the Porteus Maze Test (PMT) in assessing planning deficits in children with a history of TBI.
- To determine the relationship between PMT performance, TBI severity, age, and the volume of focal brain lesions.
- To compare the sensitivity of the PMT with a measure of receptive vocabulary (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised) in detecting cognitive impairments.
Main Methods:
- Administered the Porteus Maze Test (PMT) to 276 pediatric patients with TBI sustained at least 3 years prior.
- Assessed TBI severity, age at testing, and lesion volume using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
- Used the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised as a control measure.
Main Results:
- The PMT demonstrated high sensitivity to overall TBI severity.
- PMT performance was significantly correlated with the volume of circumscribed prefrontal lesions.
- Receptive vocabulary was related to injury severity but not specifically to discrete prefrontal lesions.
Conclusions:
- The Porteus Maze Test is a valuable tool for identifying planning deficits in pediatric TBI.
- Prefrontal lesion volume is a key factor associated with planning impairments after TBI in children.
- Cognitive deficits after pediatric TBI may involve distinct neural mechanisms for different cognitive functions.
Abstract:
To investigate planning in traumatically brain injured children, the authors gave the Porteus Maze Test (PMT; S. D. Porteus, 1959) to 276 pediatric patients who had sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) at least 3 years previously. Sensitivity of the PMT to TBI severity, age at test, and volume of focal brain lesions detected by magnetic resonance imaging was also studied. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (L. M. Dunn & L. M. Dunn, 1981) was also administered as a control measure. Results indicated that the PMT was highly sensitive to TBI severity and to volume of circumscribed prefrontal lesions. In contrast to the PMT data, receptive vocabulary was related to injury severity but not to discrete prefrontal lesions. Implications for mechanisms of cognitive deficit after TBI in children are discussed.
