Executive Function Profiles in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in heterogeneous patterns of neuropsychological impairment. This study investigated heterogeneity in executive function (EF) using the Comprehensive Trail Making Test (CTMT) to evaluate 121 children and adolescents with TBI and 121 matched normal controls. The TBI group performed approximately two standard deviations below controls.

Cognitive and academic achievement changes associated with day hospital rehabilitation in children with acquired brain injury.

An evaluation was made of the outcome of a day hospital rehabilitation program for children who experienced an acquired neurological illness, mainly traumatic brain injury. Participants were administered neuropsychological and academic evaluations upon entry to the program, immediately upon discharge and several months after discharge Repeated measures ANOVA results for variables selected from the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment and the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System found that comparisons showed significant (≥p < .01) improvement occurred between the first and second assessment, generally with large effect sizes.

Validity of the RIAS for assessing children with traumatic brain injury: sensitivity to TBI and comparability to the WISC-III and WISC-IV.

Intelligence tests are commonly administered to children following moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). The Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) is a recently developed measure of intellectual ability that has a number of appealing features for assessing individuals with brain damage, but as yet has little validity information when applied to children with TBI or other forms of brain injury. It is therefore unclear whether RIAS scores are sensitive to brain injury and how they compare to older more well-established tests such as the Wechsler scales.

Quantitative neuroimaging in mucolipidosis type IV.

Mucolipidosis type IV (MLIV) is an autosomal recessive disorder resulting from mutations in the MCOLN1 gene. This gene encodes the endosomal/lysosomal transient receptor potential channel protein mucolipin-1 (TRPML1). Affected patients suffer from neurodevelopmental abnormalities and progressive retinal dystrophy.

A comparison of IQ and memory cluster solutions in moderate and severe pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Recent studies have examined heterogeneous neuropsychological outcomes in childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) using cluster analysis. These studies have identified homogeneous subgroups based on tests of IQ, memory, and other cognitive abilities that show some degree of association with specific cognitive, emotional, and behavioral outcomes, and have demonstrated that the clusters derived for children with TBI are different from those observed in normal populations. However, the extent to which these subgroups are stable across abilities has not been examined, and this has significant implications for the generalizability and clinical utility of TBI clusters.

Teacher-reported behavioral disturbances in children with traumatic brain injury: an examination of the BASC-2.

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with behavioral disturbances that can interfere with adjustment in the classroom. As such, standardized assessments of behavioral disturbances following TBI are useful in treatment planning and rehabilitation, although few studies have examined the sensitivity of standardized behavior assessments to behavioral abnormalities in this population. The present study compared the Behavior Assessment System for Children-Second Edition Teacher Rating Scale (BASC-2 TRS) profiles of 25 children who sustained TBI to those of 25 matched controls and to the BASC-2 standardization sample.

Neuropsychological profiles of six children with anoxic brain injury.

Anoxic brain injury (ABI) often results in severe memory impairment and other cognitive and behavioral deficits, although limited information is available regarding pediatric cases. This study reported the neuropsychological outcomes in six children and adolescents who sustained ABI. Profiles were compared by mechanism of injury (ischemic vs.

Factor structure of the Comprehensive Trail Making Test in children and adolescents with brain dysfunction.

The Comprehensive Trail Making Test (CTMT) is a relatively new version of the Trail Making Test that has a number of appealing features, including a large normative sample that allows raw scores to be converted to standard T scores adjusted for age. Preliminary validity information suggests that CTMT scores are sensitive to brain injury and demonstrate expected correlations with other neuropsychological tests, although the evidence also suggests that the factor structure of the CTMT may differ in children with brain dysfunction in comparison to the standardization sample. The present study addresses this matter by conducting a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the CTMT in 382 children and adolescents.

Neurocognitive correlates of the trail making test for older children in patients with traumatic brain injury.

Studies have found that processing speed and working memory influence performance on the Trail Making Test (TMT), though little research is available in this regard for the TMT for Children (TMT-C), particularly in clinical populations. The purpose of the present study was to examine cognitive mechanisms that are thought to underline performance on the TMT-C in a sample of children who sustained traumatic brain injury. Sixty-one children and adolescents with moderate to severe brain injuries completed the TMT-C and performed a battery of neuropsychological tests.

Psychosocial subtypes on the behavior assessment system for children, second edition following pediatric traumatic brain injury.

This study identified the subtypes of psychosocial functioning in children who had sustained traumatic brain injury using the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition. Participants (N = 91) were aged 6-20. Using hierarchical agglomerative clustering techniques, a reliable typology emerged that consisted of two subtypes, which were labeled as Normal and Pervasive Emotional Difficulties.

Comprehensive Trail Making Test performance in children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury.

The sensitivity of the Trail Making Test to brain damage has been well-established over many years, making it one of the most commonly used tests in clinical neuropsychological evaluations. The current study examined the validity of scores from a newer version of the Trail Making Test, the Comprehensive Trail Making Test (CTMT), in children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants included 242 children and adolescents, 121 with sustained TBI and 121 normal control participants, who were matched to the individuals with TBI on age and sex.

Generalizability of WISC-IV index and subtest score profiles in children with traumatic brain injury.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th edition (WISC-IV) is often used to assess children with traumatic brain injury (TBI); although limited information is available regarding its psychometric properties in these children. Two recent reports suggest that the Perceptual Reasoning Index is not uniquely sensitive to TBI, which differs from the Perceptual Organization Index of the WISC-III. The current study examined WISC-IV profiles in two independently gathered samples of children with TBI.

Neuropsychological and behavioral measures of attention assess different constructs in children with traumatic brain injury.

Neuropsychological and behavioral measures are used to assess attention, but little convergence has been found between these two assessment methods. However, many prior studies have not considered attention as a multicomponent system, which may contribute to this lack of agreement between neuropsychological and behavioral measures. To address this the current study examined the relationship between the neuropsychological measures that comprise a four-component model of attention and parent-report behavioral ratings of attention problems and hyperactivity.

Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration performance in children with traumatic brain injury and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Evaluation of visuoconstructional abilities is a common part of clinical neuropsychological assessment, and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI; K. E. Beery & N.

Differential sensitivity of TOMAL subtests and index scores to pediatric traumatic brain injury.

The objective of the present study was to examine and compare the subtest, index, and factor scores of the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL), using receiver-operating characteristic curves, to investigate their sensitivity and specificity to traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children and adolescents. One hundred and fifty participants who had sustained TBI were compared to 150 controls matched on age and gender from the TOMAL's standardization sample. Results indicated that the greatest area under the curve (AUC) was for the Object Recall (OR) subtest score, the Composite Memory Index (CMI), and the attention factor score.

IQ profiles are associated with differences in behavioral functioning following pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Research suggests that IQ profiles identify subgroups of children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) based on sparing and impairment of cognitive abilities, but little information is available regarding whether these subgroups are differentiated on variables that are important for TBI outcome, such as behavioral functioning. The current study examined behavioral disturbances in 123 children with TBI in association with profiles of intellectual abilities identified using cluster analysis. On the basis of prior research, four clusters were hypothesized.

Memory and attention profiles in pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes heterogeneous patterns of neurocognitive deficits. In an attempt to identify homogenous subgroups within this heterogeneity, cluster analysis was used to examine memory and attention abilities as measured by the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL) in 300 children, 150 with TBI and 150 matched nonbrain injured controls (standardization sample [SS]). Significant differences were present between the TBI and the SS groups on all TOMAL subscale and index scores, with the TBI groups performing approximately 1.

Utilization of the comprehensive trail making test as a measure of executive functioning in children and adolescents with traumatic brain injuries.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often results in long-term negative effects in attention, memory, perception, language, and executive functioning. Children and adolescents are the most vulnerable as TBIs are the leading cause of death and disability for this age group. Despite these high proportions and detrimental effects, few studies have utilized a developmentally appropriate, standardized measure to assess executive functioning within a pediatric TBI population.

Attention processing abnormalities in children with traumatic brain injury and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: differential impairment of component processes.

Individuals with acquired and neurodevelopmental brain disorders often exhibit deficits in attention. Recent models of attention have conceptualized it as a multicomponent system. One influential model proposed by Mirsky et al.

WISC-IV profiles in children with traumatic brain injury: similarities to and differences from the WISC-III.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV; D. Wechsler, 2003a) is often utilized to assess children with traumatic brain injury (TBI), although little information is available regarding its psychometric properties in these children. The current study examined WISC-IV performance in a sample of 61 children with TBI.

Sensitivity of the test of memory and learning to attention and memory deficits in children with ADHD.

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit a number of cognitive deficits. The current study compared patterns of attention, learning, and memory impairment on the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL) between 80 children with ADHD and 80 normal comparisons who were matched for age and gender. Results demonstrated that children with ADHD performed significantly worse than matched controls on the Attention/Concentration Index and the Sequential Recall Index.

Construct and criterion validity of the comprehensive trail making test in children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury.

The current study examined the construct and criterion validity of the Comprehensive Trail Making Test (CTMT) when used to evaluate children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants included 100 children and adolescents, 50 who had sustained TBI and 50 normal comparisons (NC). Analyses indicated that the CTMT factor scores were significantly correlated with tests of perceptual organizational ability, processing speed, and motor function and provided support for its construct validity.

Structure of attention in children with traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common cause of disability among children in the United States, and attention deficits are frequently observed in both the acute and chronic phases of injury. The current study investigated models of attention in children with TBI and examined differential sensitivity of various components of these attention models to the severity of the brain injury. Participants included 151 children and adolescents (mean age 12.

Sensitivity of the comprehensive trail making test to traumatic brain injury in adolescents.

The current study examined the sensitivity of the Comprehensive Trail Making Test (CTMT Reynolds) to neurocognitive deficits in adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants included 60 adolescents, 30 who had sustained TBI and 30 healthy controls (HC) that were individually matched to the TBI sample on age, gender, ethnicity, and geographical region. For both the TBI and HC groups the mean age was 15.

Sensitivity of the children's category test level 2 to brain dysfunction.

The current study examined the psychometric properties and sensitivity to brain dysfunction of a popular test of abstraction and problem solving ability, the Children's Category Test Level 2 (CCT-2; Boll, 1993). Participants were 113 children with various forms of structural brain damage (n=82) or with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (n=31). Results indicated that while there is some support for the validity of the CCT-2, the test is not particularly sensitive to brain dysfunction.