title: Visual information processing in infants with focal brain lesions.
abstract: Visual information processing for faces were tested by means of the Fagan test of infant intelligence (FTII) in six infants of approximately 12 months of age affected by congenital unilateral brain lesions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to determine the side and size of the lesions. In addition to the FTII, all infants were submitted to a psychometric evaluation using the Griffiths scales. Visual acuity, visual field, and ocular motility were also assessed. Three infants showed damage in the left hemisphere and three in the right. The severity of the lesions, as revealed by MRI scan, was similar in the two groups. All infants except one had normal or borderline cognitive scores on the Griffiths scales. Conversely, four infants showed abnormal results on the FTII, which were not associated with the severity of the lesions, psychometric scores, or the presence of visual deficits. A preference for stimuli presented on the left side of the screen was found, independent of the side of the lesions. This effect was stronger for novel stimuli. The results of this study confirm the importance of early assessment of neuropsychological functions in infants with focal brain lesions.
authors.affiliation: Stella Maris Scientific Institute-INPE, University of Pisa, Calambrone Pisa, Italy. cioni@inpe.unipi.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cioni
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brizzolara
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferretti
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bertuccelli
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fazzi
mesh_terms: D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*