The Intelligence of Hydrocephalic Children

Dennis, Maureen; Fitz, Charles R.; Netley, C.; Sugar, Judith A.; Harwood-Nash, Derek C.; Hendrick, E B; Hoffman, Harold J.; Humphreys, Robin P.

doi:10.1097/00006254-198207000-00011

Cited by 18 publications

(32 citation statements)

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“…The median IQ was, however, similar in both groups. The better verbal IQ compared with performance IQ was significant for children both with and without MMC, as has been shown earlier (Dennis et al, 1981;Riva et al, 1992;HoppeHirsch et al, 1998). When assessing neuropsychological functions in children with an IQ ≥ 70, there were no differences in any function or domain between children with or without MMC.…”

Section: Children With Infantile Hydrocephalus Compared With Childrensupporting

confidence: 76%

“…When comparing the studied group of children with a normal population, the distribution of intelligence was similar but with a displacement of 20-30 IQ scores toward lower levels and with a group of children with very low scores. The characteristic better verbal than performance IQ was noted even before it became common to treat hydrocephalus surgically (Hagberg & Sjögren, 1966;Tew et al 1979) and it has frequently been described over the years (Dennis et al, 1981;Donders et al, 1991;Riva et al, 1994;Brookshire et al, 1995;Lumenta et al, 1995). In this study, this difference was present in children with and without learning disabilities, with and without MMC and regardless of whether they were born with hydrocephalus or developed it during their first year of life.…”

Section: Intelligencementioning

confidence: 55%

“…There were no differences between children with or without MMC, which indicates that the visuo-motor tests (Trail Making Test and Tower of London Test) also reflect deficits in planning and speed and not deficits in motor functions in children with MMC. Deficits in visual and visuo-spatial functions can be partly explained by the thinning of the posterior cortex, which is often found as a secondary CNS insult in children with hydrocephalus (Dennis et al, 1981, Fletcher et al, 1996. In spite of the fact that children with hydrocephalus have fluent spontaneous language in everyday life, they had difficulty performing the word-finding task in this study.…”

Section: The Impact Of Hydrocephalus On Cognition and Neuropsychologimentioning

confidence: 65%

“…It is frequently documented that children with hydrocephalus generally have a characteristic test profile in which verbal intelligence exceeds non-verbal intelligence (Dennis et al, 1981;Donders et al, 1991;Riva et al, 1994;Brookshire et al, 1995;Lumenta et al, 1995). It can therefore be assumed that language is generally well preserved in children with hydrocephalus.…”

Section: Verbal Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavioural problems and autism in children with hydrocephalus

Lindquist

Carlsson

Persson

et al. 2006

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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Aims: The main objective of this thesis was to explore the cognitive and behavioural consequences of hydrocephalus in children born at term and preterm, with or without myelomeningocele (MMC) and with or without concomitant neurological impairments, such as cerebral palsy (CP), epilepsy or learning disabilities. Material and methods:From a population-based cohort of all 107 children with hydrocephalus born in [1989][1990][1991][1992][1993] 73 of the surviving children were assessed with intelligence tests and most of them also using behavioural and autism rating scales. Thirty-six of 47 (77%) children with an IQ of ≥ 70 and eight children with MMC but no hydrocephalus were assessed with a neuropsychological test battery (NIMES) and compared with age-and gender-matched controls. Results:One-third of the children were normally gifted (IQ > 85), another 30% had a low-average IQ of 70-84 and 37% had learning disabilities (IQ < 70). An IQ of < 70 was found in 42% of children without MMC and in 29% of those with MMC. Children born preterm had a lower IQ than those born at term. Children with CP and/or epilepsy had significantly lower IQ scores than those without these impairments. Parents rated 67% and teachers 39% of the children as having behavioural problems. Learning disabilities increased the risk significantly. Almost all the children with CP and/or epilepsy had behavioural problems. Learning disabilities, CP and epilepsy significantly increased the risk of autistic symptoms, which were present in 13 %, in 4 % of those with MMC and in 20 % of those without MMC. Children with hydrocephalus both with and without MMC and with an IQ of > 70 performed significantly less well than controls on learning, memory and executive functions but not on registration skills. There were no differences between children with hydrocephalus in combination with MMC and those without MMC, whereas children with MMC but no hydrocephalus and normal intelligence performed as well as controls on all the neuropsychological functions. Conclusions:The majority of children with hydrocephalus had learning disabilities or a low-average IQ, as well as behavioural problems, and some had autistic symptoms. Despite average or slightly below average intelligence, children with hydrocephalus had major difficulties with learning and memory and with executive functions, regardless of the aetiology of the hydrocephalus. Only MMC did not appear to influence cognitive and neuropsychological outcome as much as the brain lesion causing or caused by the hydrocephalus.

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Section: Children With Infantile Hydrocephalus Compared With Childrensupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Intelligencementioning

confidence: 55%

Section: The Impact Of Hydrocephalus On Cognition and Neuropsychologimentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Verbal Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavioural problems and autism in children with hydrocephalus

Lindquist

Carlsson

Persson

et al. 2006

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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“…Since the CSF flow proceeds from the site of the obstruction in the posterior brain forward into anterior regions, hydrocephalus may underlie thinning of the cortical mantle maximally in more posterior temporal, parietal, and occipital regions (Del Bigio, 2004;Raimondi, 1994). Such reports would be consistent with older studies based on pneumoencephalography and cerebral tomography that visualized a thinner cortical mantle in SB, especially in more posterior regions in some children (Dennis et al, 1981;Tromp et al, 1979). A recent study also suggests selective thinning of the cortical mantle based on visualization and measurement of individual MRI scans (Miller et al, in press We used contemporary neuroimaging and quantitative methods to determine whether group differences are evident in the spatial patterns of cortical thickening or thinning in SB.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Neocortical reorganization in spina bifida

et al. 2008

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Normal brain development throughout childhood and adolescence is usually characterized by decreased cortical thickness in the frontal regions as well as region-specific patterns of increased white matter myelination and volume. We investigated total cerebral volumes, neocortical surface area, and neocortical thickness in 16 children with a neural tube defect, spina bifida myelomeningocele (SB), and 16 age-matched typically developing controls using a semi-automated, quantitative approach to MRI-based brain morphometry. The results revealed no significant group differences in total cerebral volume. However, group differences were observed in the global distribution of distinct tissue classes within the cerebrum: the SB group demonstrated a significant 15% reduction in total white matter and a 69% increase in cerebrospinal fluid, with no differences in total gray matter. Group comparisons of neocortical surface area assessments were significantly smaller in the occipital regions for SB, with no significant group differences in the frontal regions. Group comparisons of cortical thickness measurements demonstrated reduced cortical thickness in all regions except the frontal regions, where the SB group exhibited an increase relative to the PC group. Although regional patterns of thinning may be associated with the mechanical effects of hydrocephalus, the overall reduction in white matter and increased neocortical thickness in the frontal regions suggest that SB reflects a long term disruption of brain development that extends far beyond the neural tube defect in the first weeks of gestation.

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Neuroanatomic and neuropsychological outcome in school-age children with achondroplasia

Thompson

Hecht²,

Bohan³

et al. 1999

Am. J. Med. Genet.

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We previously reported on cognitive and respiratory factors in a series of infants with achondroplasia (ACH). We now present the results of neuropsychological evaluation and magnetic resonance imaging in 16 school-age children with ACH, 7 of whom had been included as infants in our previous report. We examined the neuroanatomic and cognitive status of this sample, as well as the predictive stability of the prior infant assessment. Seventeen normally developing children of average stature and 21 preterm children with arrested (compensated, unshunted) hydrocephalus constituted the comparison groups. Brain volumes of children with ACH were significantly larger than those of the comparison groups. In addition, children with ACH exhibited kinking of the medulla and neuroanatomic abnormalities consistent with arrested hydrocephalus, including enlarged ventricles and hypoplasia of the corpus callosum. Cognitive abilities at school age were average, although mild deficits were seen on visual-spatial tasks, similar to those obtained by the hydrocephalic comparison group. Only gross motor coordination deficits distinguished the ACH group from the hydrocephalic controls. Infant assessment overestimated later school-age IQ scores in those infants with ACH who scored above average. These findings point to generally preserved cognitive skills in selected children with ACH at early school age, although children with ACH should be evaluated individually as they are at risk for cognitive, academic, and motor deficits.

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The Intelligence of Hydrocephalic Children

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

Behavioural problems and autism in children with hydrocephalus

Behavioural problems and autism in children with hydrocephalus

Neocortical reorganization in spina bifida

Neuroanatomic and neuropsychological outcome in school-age children with achondroplasia

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