Critical Care and Neurosciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
Child Neuropsychol. 2012;18(4):392-403. doi: 10.1080/09297049.2011.613810. Epub 2011 Oct 3.
Attention and social functioning and their interrelationships have not been routinely examined in children with early brain insult (EBI). This study aimed to describe attention and social functioning in children with two types of EBI: malformations of cortical development (MCD) and stroke. Children diagnosed with MCD (n = 14, 6 males) or stroke (n = 14, 8 males) aged 8 to 14 years (M = 12 years 11 months) completed neuropsychological assessments to examine attention processes. Primary caregivers completed a questionnaire to assess executive components of children's attention and teachers completed a questionnaire to measure children's social functioning. Brain scans (MRI or CT) were coded by a pediatric neuroradiologist. Higher rates of impairments in attention and social function were found in children with EBI compared with normative expectations. Children with MCD experienced more global and clinically significant levels of impairment than children with stroke; though impairments were present in both groups. A strong association between executive components of attention and social function was observed. In addition, complex attention processes were associated with social function. The findings emphasize the reciprocity between attention, behavior and social outcomes, and the vulnerability of social function following EBI.
在患有早期脑损伤 (EBI) 的儿童中，注意力和社会功能及其相互关系尚未得到常规检查。本研究旨在描述两种类型的 EBI（皮质发育畸形 [MCD] 和中风）患儿的注意力和社会功能。年龄在 8 至 14 岁之间（M = 12 岁 11 个月）的被诊断为 MCD（n = 14，男性 6 名）或中风（n = 14，男性 8 名）的儿童完成了神经心理学评估，以检查注意力过程。主要照顾者完成了一份问卷，以评估儿童注意力的执行成分，教师完成了一份问卷，以衡量儿童的社会功能。脑部扫描（MRI 或 CT）由儿科神经放射科医生进行编码。与正常预期相比，患有 EBI 的儿童在注意力和社会功能方面的损伤率更高。与中风患儿相比，MCD 患儿的注意力和社会功能障碍更为严重；尽管两组患儿都存在损伤。观察到注意力的执行成分与社会功能之间存在很强的关联。此外，复杂的注意力过程与社会功能有关。这些发现强调了注意力、行为和社会结果之间的相互关系，以及 EBI 后社会功能的脆弱性。
