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Updated: May 11, 2026
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
Imaging cerebral palsy
1Clinic for Neuropediatrics and Neurorehabilitation, Epilepsy Center for Children and Adolescents, Vogtareuth, and Department of Pediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, University Children's Hospital, Tübingen, Germany.
Insights
Neuroimaging is crucial for diagnosing cerebral palsy (CP) in children, clarifying brain lesion causes, and predicting outcomes. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred method for detailed assessment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Neuroradiology
- Developmental Neuroscience
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) diagnosis and management benefit significantly from neuroimaging.
- Understanding the etiology and timing of brain lesions is key for prognosis and genetic counseling in children with CP.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the importance and utility of various neuroimaging techniques in evaluating children with suspected or confirmed cerebral palsy.
- To categorize brain lesions associated with CP and discuss advanced imaging modalities.
Main Methods:
- Review of neuroimaging techniques including cranial ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
- Classification of brain lesions into malformations and defective lesions (early/late 3rd trimester).
- Application of diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for functional insights.
Main Results:
- Neuroimaging aids in diagnosis, etiology clarification, prognosis, and genetic counseling for pediatric CP.
- MRI is the gold standard for imaging children with CP, ideally after age 2.
- Lesions are categorized as malformations or defective lesions, with specific timing and location implications.
Conclusions:
- All children with cerebral palsy should undergo at least one neuroimaging procedure.
- Advanced techniques like DTT and fMRI enhance understanding of functional consequences and cortical reorganization.
- Tailored neuroimaging strategies, from ultrasound to MRI, are essential for comprehensive CP evaluation.
Abstract:
Neuroimaging in children with (suspected) cerebral palsy is useful for contributing to or corroborating the diagnosis, clarifying the etiology and the "timing" of the underlying brain lesion, establishing a prognosis and, in some cases, as a basis for genetic counseling. Therefore, each child with cerebral palsy should undergo at least one neuroimaging procedure. While cranial ultrasound is often the first and least invasive technique applied in newborns and infants, and computed tomography is beneficial especially in emergency situations, the "gold standard" technique for imaging children with cerebral palsy is magnetic resonance imaging, ideally performed after the age of 2 years. Underlying brain lesions can be subdivided into brain malformations (including disorders of neuronal proliferation and cellular lineage, disorders of neuroblast migration, and disorders of neocortical organization) and defective lesions. Defective lesions, which typically occur only during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy or peri-/postnatally, are subdivided into lesions affecting primarily the periventricular white matter ("early 3rd trimester lesions") and those affecting primarily structures of cortical/deep gray matter ("late 3rd trimester lesions"). The understanding of the functional consequences of such lesions can be enhanced by diffusion tensor tractography; cortical (re-)organization can be visualized using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
