Brain activity and cognitive status in pediatric patients: development of a clinical assessment protocol.
The purpose of this study was to test the validity of a new computerized task to assess children's cognitive problem-solving skills using the brain event-related potentials. This event-related potential-computerized cognitive problem-solving task does not require a child to give a verbal or motor (ie, pointing) response. The event-related potential waveforms were recorded from 20 typically developing children. Two nonverbal, problem-solving tasks (tasks 1 and 2) were developed for each of two age groups (5 and 6 years). For each task, single pictures, taken from an existing standardized test of nonverbal problem solving, were individually and sequentially presented on a computer screen. One of the seven pictures was classified as incongruent or outside category; it did not belong with the other pictures. As predicted, the event-related potential amplitudes were significantly larger to the outside- versus within-category pictures. This effect was found for tasks 1 and 2 for the 5- and 6-year-old children. Children as young as 5 years of age reliably exhibit brain activity, which can be used to infer cognitive problem-solving skill. This assessment paradigm may eventually serve as a clinically useful adjunct to a thorough neurologic and neurodevelopmental assessment of selected pediatric populations, such as those presenting with moderate-severe cerebral palsy whose expressive language and motor skills are notably impaired.
Byrne
J M
JM
Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University School of Medicine, Halifax, NS, Canada. jbyrne@iwks-grace.ns.ca
Connolly
J F
JF
MacLean
S E
SE
Beattie
T L
TL
Dooley
J M
JM
Gordon
K E
KE
D000367:Age Factors; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D004569:Electroencephalography; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300 / Q000502:physiology; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology