Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026
07:56
Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Intelligence quotient in children with meningomyeloceles: a case-control study.
Farideh Nejat1, Syed Shuja Kazmi, Zohreh Habibi
1Department of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. nejat@sina.tums.ac.ir
Journal of Neurosurgery
|March 3, 2007
Summary
Children with meningomyelocele (MMC) often have lower IQs compared to healthy peers. However, even those with MMC typically achieve average or above-average intelligence, indicating the disease itself impacts cognition, not its complications.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- Meningomyelocele (MMC) is a common birth defect affecting the central nervous system.
- Learning disabilities associated with MMC are frequently overlooked.
- Evaluating cognitive function in children with MMC is crucial for comprehensive care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess intelligence quotient (IQ) levels in children diagnosed with MMC.
- To investigate the correlation between the presence of MMC and/or its complications with intelligence levels.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 50 children with MMC (ages 5-12) and 50 matched controls.
- IQ assessment using the Ravens Progressive Matrices test.
- Comparison of IQ scores between the MMC patient group and the control group, considering potential confounding factors like socioeconomic status.
Main Results:
- Children with MMC exhibited a statistically significant lower mean IQ (96.62 ± 13.01) compared to the control group (104.82 ± 12.30).
- Despite the lower average, all children in the MMC group scored within the average or above-average range.
- Factors such as early MMC repair, shunt presence/complications, mobility, and lesion level did not significantly correlate with IQ.
Conclusions:
- The primary disease process of MMC, rather than its complications, appears to be the cause of reduced cognitive levels.
- Cognitive assessment should be a routine part of managing children with MMC.
- Further research may explore specific neurological underpinnings of cognitive differences in MMC patients.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Biological Influences on Intelligence
Intelligence is often thought to be linked to brain size, but the relationship is more complex than that. While brain size does correlate modestly with some abilities, like verbal skills, the connection is weaker for others, such as spatial reasoning. Other factors, like brain structure, also play crucial roles. For instance, despite Einstein's smaller-than-average brain, his parietal cortex, which is involved in spatial reasoning, was 15% wider, suggesting that neural density might matter more...
01:29Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Despite the strong genetic influence on traits like intelligence, environmental factors significantly shape outcomes. For example, while over 90% of height variation is due to genetic differences, environmental factors such as nutrition also have a notable impact. Similarly, for intelligence, changes in a child's surroundings can significantly alter their IQ. Research shows that enriched environments boost children's academic success and help them develop key cognitive skills. Children from...
01:29Intellectual Disability
Intellectual disability (ID) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by deficits in intellectual and adaptive functioning that manifest during the developmental period. This condition encompasses challenges in reasoning, memory, problem-solving, and learning, accompanied by impairments in everyday life skills, such as communication, self-care, and social interactions. Intellectual disability affects approximately 1% of the population in the United States, impacting an estimated 5...
01:29Measures of Intelligence
Psychologists measure intelligence by using standardized tests that produce a score known as the intelligence quotient or IQ. To understand IQ tests, it's important to recognize the key principles behind their construction: validity, reliability, and standardization.
Validity refers to how well a test measures what it claims to measure. An intelligence test should accurately assess intelligence rather than another characteristic, like anxiety. Criterion validity is one way to evaluate this; it...
Validity refers to how well a test measures what it claims to measure. An intelligence test should accurately assess intelligence rather than another characteristic, like anxiety. Criterion validity is one way to evaluate this; it...
01:23Binet's Contribution to Measures of Intelligence
Alfred Binet, along with his student Théophile Simon, was tasked by the French Ministry of Education in 1904 to create a method for identifying students who struggled to learn through conventional classroom instruction. This initiative aimed to address overcrowding by placing such students in specialized schools. Binet and Simon developed an intelligence test comprising 30 tasks, ranging from simple commands, like touching one's nose or ear, to more complex tasks, such as drawing designs from...