Language difficulties in children adopted internationally: neuropsychological and functional neural correlates

Children who have experienced deprivation as a result of orphanage care during early development are at increased risk for a number of cognitive, emotional, and social difficulties (MacLean, 2003). This study examined the neuropsychological and behavioral profile of internationally adopted children with language difficulties, one of the most common cognitive challenges (Behen et al., 2008). In addition to neuropsychological testing, fMRI was utilized to examine activation patterns during expressive fluency and receptive language tasks. In comparison to internationally adopted children without language difficulties and nonadopted controls, participants with language difficulty had worse performance on tasks of verbal memory and reasoning, academic skills, and working memory. Behaviorally, all internationally adopted participants, regardless of language ability, had more parent-reported hyperactivity and impulsivity compared with controls. The fMRI tasks revealed reduced activation in traditional language areas in participants with language difficulty. The impact of early adverse experience on later development is discussed.