Identifying patterns of neurocognitive dysfunction through direct comparison of children with leukemia, central nervous system tumors, and sickle cell disease.

Purpose: To quantify and compare the magnitude and type of neurocognitive dysfunction in at-risk children with central nervous system (CNS) tumors, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and sickle cell disease (SCD) using a common instrument and metric to directly compare these groups with each other.

Methods: Fifty-three participants between the ages of 7 and 12 years (n = 27 ALL, n = 11 CNS tumor, n = 15 SCD) were enrolled and assessed using the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTCB). Participants with ALL or CNS tumor were 0-18 months posttherapy, while participants with SCD possessed the SS or Sβ genotype, took hydroxyurea, and had no known history of stroke.

Reduced Hedonic Capacity/Approach Motivation Relates to Blunted Responsivity to Gain and Loss Feedback in Children.

Adolescents and adults with major depressive disorder or elevated depressive symptoms show reduced reward responses and tend to show enhanced responses to negative stimuli. However, reward-related behaviors and adaptive responses to negative feedback undergo dramatic changes across puberty. Thus, key questions remain regarding how altered incentive processing relates to depressive and anhedonic symptoms in prepubertal child populations.