Instituto de Medicina Molecular (IMM), Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
Child Neuropsychol. 2013 Sep;19(5):466-78. doi: 10.1080/09297049.2012.693911. Epub 2012 Jun 14.
Neurological subtle signs (NSS) are often observed during the neurological examination of children and tend to disappear with age. Their persistence into late adolescence or young adulthood has been related to psychiatric and neurocognitive disorders. To provide a better understanding of their functional basis, a longitudinal correlational study with neurocognitive measurements was performed.
We conducted multiple regression and correlation analyses of NSS with demographic and cognitive measures on a subset of 341 healthy children (56% males), taking part in a longitudinal dental study. Participants, whose ages ranged between 11-15 years, at first evaluation, undertook yearly, during 5 years, a 6-item NSS exam (producing a total score ranging between 0-18) and a comprehensive battery of neurocognitive tests. Effects of age, gender, IQ, and 7 neurocognitive factors on NSS were analyzed.
Over the years, NSS scores correlated consistently with selective attention (Stroop test), motor speed (finger tapping), and visuomotor speed (pegboard speed).
These results suggest that the disappearance of NSS in late childhood and adolescence occurs primarily in parallel with the development of motor and visuomotor functions and secondarily in relation to higher order functions such as selective attention (Stroop) and executive control (B-A Trails difference).
在儿童的神经系统检查中，经常观察到神经学细微体征（NSS），这些体征往往会随着年龄的增长而消失。它们在青春期后期或成年早期持续存在与精神和神经认知障碍有关。为了更好地了解其功能基础，我们进行了一项与神经认知测量相关的纵向相关性研究。
我们对参加纵向牙科研究的 341 名健康儿童（56%为男性）的亚组进行了 NSS 与人口统计学和认知测量的多元回归和相关分析。参与者在首次评估时的年龄在 11-15 岁之间，在接下来的 5 年中每年都要接受 6 项 NSS 检查（总分为 0-18 分）和全面的神经认知测试。分析了年龄、性别、智商和 7 种神经认知因素对 NSS 的影响。
多年来，NSS 评分与选择性注意力（Stroop 测试）、运动速度（手指敲击）和视动速度（钉板速度）一直相关。
这些结果表明，儿童期后期和青春期 NSS 的消失主要与运动和视动功能的发展同时发生，其次与选择性注意力（Stroop）和执行控制（B-A Trails 差异）等高级功能有关。
