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Neuropsychological outcomes of children with Optic Pathway Glioma
Chiara Papini1,2, Robert A Dineen3,4,5, David A Walker2,6
1School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Insights
Children with optic pathway glioma (OPG) face moderate risks of neuropsychological deficits, particularly in visual perception and cognitive skills. Scholastic progression remained age-appropriate overall for these childhood brain tumor survivors.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Oncology
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Optic Pathway Glioma (OPG) is a common pediatric brain tumor.
- Neuropsychological sequelae in OPG survivors are not well understood.
- Early-onset OPG (before age 6) may impact long-term cognitive and visual development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess visual perception, general intelligence, and academic achievement in children with OPG.
- To identify associations between neuropsychological outcomes and clinical/socio-demographic factors.
- To examine the extent of concurrent impairment in functional domains for OPG survivors.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 12 children diagnosed with OPG before age 6 underwent standardized neuropsychological assessments.
- Adjustments were made to visual materials to accommodate potential vision impairments.
- Medical records provided data on vision, clinical history, and socio-demographics.
Main Results:
- Children with OPG showed significant within-patient variability and moderate group-level impairment compared to normative data.
- Visual perception was the most affected domain, while academic achievement was generally age-appropriate.
- Cognitive assessment revealed intact verbal and visuo-spatial reasoning but deficits in working memory and processing speed. Visual function correlated with performance on visually dependent tasks.
Conclusions:
- OPG survivors are at moderate risk for neuropsychological impairment, with visual perception and cognitive proficiency being particularly vulnerable.
- Age-appropriate scholastic progression suggests compensatory mechanisms or resilience in some domains.
- Further research with larger samples is needed to clarify the roles of vision loss and neurofibromatosis type 1 co-diagnosis.
Abstract:
Optic Pathway Glioma (OPG) is a relatively common brain tumour in childhood; however, there is scarce understanding of neuropsychological sequelae in these survivors. In this study, 12 children with diagnosis of OPG before 6 years of age received a comprehensive standardised assessment of visual perception, general intelligence and academic achievement, using adjustments to visual materials of the tests, to examine the extent of concurrent impairment in these functional domains. Information about vision, clinical and socio-demographic factors were extracted from medical records to assess the associations of neuropsychological outcomes with clinical and socio-demographic factors. Children with OPG exhibited high within-patient variability and moderate group-level impairment compared to test norms. Visual perception was the most impaired domain, while scholastic progression was age-appropriate overall. For cognition, core verbal and visuo-spatial reasoning skills were intact, whereas deficits were found in working memory and processing speed. Visual function was associated with tasks that rely on visual input. Children with OPG are at moderate risk of neuropsychological impairment, especially for visual perception and cognitive proficiency. Future research should elucidate further the relative contribution of vision loss and neurofibromatosis type 1 co-diagnosis within a large sample.
