Culturally Informed Neuropsychological Evaluations in Pediatric Epilepsy: Evidence-Based Practice Considerations.

Objective: Epilepsy is one of the most common reasons for referral for a pediatric neuropsychological evaluation due its high prevalence in childhood and our well-established clinical role in tertiary care settings. Emerging evidence indicates that racial and ethnic minority populations experience increased epilepsy burden compared with White peers. Although there has been heightened recognition in our specialty regarding the dire need for culturally and linguistically responsive evaluations, the scientific evidence to support effective neuropsychological service delivery for bi/multilingual and bi/multicultural youth with epilepsy is comparatively scant and of poor quality.

Diverse experiences and approaches to tele neuropsychology: Commentary and reflections over the past year of COVID-19.

In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, neuropsychologists rapidly adopted teleneuropsychology (TeleNP) services to ensure continued clinical care. Prior to COVID-19, TeleNP was not widely used nor was it included in the majority of traditional practice or training models across graduate, internship, and postdoctoral programs. Out of necessity, the pandemic was a catalyst that promoted greater adoption of TeleNP services.

Clinical utility of the ECLECTIC framework in providing culturally-informed autism spectrum disorder evaluations: A pediatric case-based approach.

Social cognition does not exist within a vacuum. One's culture and surrounding social environment influence 1) development of social skills and behaviors, and 2) society's expectations regarding "normal" behavior versus behaviors consistent with the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Use of a comprehensive cultural framework such as Fujii's ECLECTIC model undergirds valid ASD testing by enhancing clinician awareness of potential biases during clinical decision-making and by supporting culturally relevant recommendations.

Transforming pediatric neuropsychology through video-based teleneuropsychology: an innovative private practice model pre-COVID-19.

Objective: In pediatric neuropsychology multiple barriers such as long wait times until an appointment, insurance coverage, and limited providers who are bilingual/bicultural or who sub-specialize in pediatric neuropsychology, often slow families from receiving diagnoses and interventions in a timely and affordable manner. This paper focuses on increasing accessibility through the development of a video-based, pediatric teleneuropsychology (TeleNP) practice model that was developed in a private practice 2 years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: 'Design thinking' methodology to problem-solving was utilized to innovate the traditional neuropsychology practice model in under-served areas who may have limited financial and healthcare resources.

InterOrganizational practice committee recommendations/guidance for teleneuropsychology (TeleNP) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

: The Inter Organizational Practice Committee (IOPC) convened a workgroup to provide rapid guidance about teleneuropsychology (TeleNP) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.: A collaborative panel of experts from major professional organizations developed provisional guidance for neuropsychological practice during the pandemic. The stakeholders included the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology/American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology, the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Division 40 of the American Psychological Association, the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology, and the American Psychological Association Services, Inc.

Inter Organizational Practice Committee Recommendations/Guidance for Teleneuropsychology in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic†.

Objective: The Inter Organizational Practice Committee convened a workgroup to provide rapid guidance about teleneuropsychology (TeleNP) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: A collaborative panel of experts from major professional organizations developed provisional guidance for neuropsychological practice during the pandemic. The stakeholders included the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology/American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology, the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Division 40 of the American Psychological Association, the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology, and the American Psychological Association Services, Inc.

Deep Learning Provides Exceptional Accuracy to ECoG-Based Functional Language Mapping for Epilepsy Surgery.

The success of surgical resection in epilepsy patients depends on preserving functionally critical brain regions, while removing pathological tissues. Being the gold standard, electro-cortical stimulation mapping (ESM) helps surgeons in localizing the function of eloquent cortex through electrical stimulation of electrodes placed directly on the cortical brain surface. Due to the potential hazards of ESM, including increased risk of provoked seizures, electrocorticography based functional mapping (ECoG-FM) was introduced as a safer alternative approach.

Noninvasive identification of seizure lateralization in children: Name that thing.

Objective: With this prospective, observational study, we aimed to determine whether noninvasive language tasks, developed specifically for children, could reliably identify the hemisphere of seizure onset in pediatric epilepsy.

Methods: Seventy-eight children with unilateral epilepsy (44 left), aged 6-15 years (mean age = 11.8, SD = 2.

Utility of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Preschool version (BRIEF-P) in young children with epilepsy.

Executive functioning deficits are prominent in children with epilepsy. Although instruments, such as the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), are useful in detecting executive dysfunction in school-age children with epilepsy, little data are available for younger children. The present study evaluates the ability of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) to detect executive dysfunction in preschool-age children with epilepsy.

Sensitivity of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (64-Card Version) versus the Tower of London (Drexel Version) for detecting executive dysfunction in children with epilepsy.

Executive function deficits are common in children and adolescents with epilepsy. Though the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) is often considered the "gold standard" for executive function assessment, its sensitivity-particularly in the case of the 64-card version (WCST-64)-is insufficiently established in pediatric samples, including children and adolescents with epilepsy. The present investigation assesses the sensitivity of the WCST-64 in children and adolescents with epilepsy in comparison to another measure: the Tower of London - Drexel Version (TOL-DX).

The role of executive functioning in quality of life in pediatric intractable epilepsy.

Objective: Children with epilepsy are vulnerable to executive dysfunction, but the relationship between executive functioning (EF) and quality of life (QOL) in children with epilepsy is not fully delineated. This exploratory study elucidated the relationship between ecological EF and QOL in pediatric intractable epilepsy.

Method: Fifty-four consecutively referred pediatric epilepsy surgery candidates and their parents were administered IQ measures, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), and the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy (QOLCE) as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Status and Baseline Neurocognitive Performance in High School Athletes.

Approximately 136,000 concussions occur annually in American high school sports. Neuropsychological data indicate that children with preexisting cognitive difficulties, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), may have protracted recovery from concussion. ADHD, with an estimated prevalence of 11% in youth, may increase an athlete's vulnerability to sustaining sports-related traumatic brain injury (TBI).

CortiQ-based Real-Time Functional Mapping for Epilepsy Surgery.

Purpose: To evaluate the use of the cortiQ-based mapping system (g.tec medication engineering GmbH, Austria) for real-time functional mapping (RTFM) and to compare it to results from electrical cortical stimulation mapping (ESM) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Methods: Electrocorticographic activity was recorded in 3 male patients with intractable epilepsy by using cortiQ mapping system and analyzed in real time.

Real-time functional mapping: potential tool for improving language outcome in pediatric epilepsy surgery.

Accurate language localization expands surgical treatment options for epilepsy patients and reduces the risk of postsurgery language deficits. Electrical cortical stimulation mapping (ESM) is considered to be the clinical gold standard for language localization. While ESM affords clinically valuable results, it can be poorly tolerated by children, requires active participation and compliance, carries a risk of inducing seizures, is highly time consuming, and is labor intensive.

Long-term neurocognitive and neuroimaging outcomes in posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome: two case reports and implications.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a neurotoxic and neurometabolic state associated with a distinct appearance on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, as well as particular clinical features. While PRES is defined as a reversible condition, instances of irreversible or persisting cytotoxic edema have been reported and appear to be associated with poor outcomes. Studies addressing the post-acute neurocognitive findings in persisting/irreversible PRES are lacking.