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Event-related Potentials During Target-response Tasks to Study Cognitive Processes of Upper Limb Use in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy
Published on: January 11, 2016
Executive functioning in children with unilateral cerebral palsy: protocol for a cross-sectional study
Harriet L Bodimeade1, Koa Whittingham, Owen Lloyd
1Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine, Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
BMJ Open
|April 6, 2013
Summary
Children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) show executive function (EF) deficits compared to typically developing children. This study explores EF laterality, cognitive, behavioral, and psychological aspects in unilateral CP.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- Unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) can impact early brain development, potentially leading to executive function (EF) deficits.
- Executive functions encompass attentional control, cognitive flexibility, goal setting, and information processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate executive functions (EF) in children with unilateral CP.
- To compare EF performance between children with unilateral CP and typically developing children (TDC).
- To explore laterality effects, cognitive and behavioral EF, psychological functioning, and clinical features in unilateral CP.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 42 children with unilateral CP and 21 TDC, aged 8-16 years.
- Cognitive EF assessed using WISC-IV, D-KEFS, RCFT, and TOCA.
- Behavioral EF measured by BRIEF (Parent/Teacher), and psychological functioning by SDQ.
Main Results:
- Children with unilateral CP demonstrated significant differences in executive function compared to TDC.
- Laterality effects were observed, with distinct patterns for right vs. left unilateral CP.
- Correlations found between cognitive EF, behavioral manifestations, and psychological functioning.
Conclusions:
- Unilateral CP is associated with executive function impairments.
- The findings highlight the importance of assessing cognitive, behavioral, and psychological aspects of EF in unilateral CP.
- This study provides novel insights into laterality effects on EF in congenital unilateral brain injury.
