Recovery of intellectual function after a brain injury: a comparison of longitudinal and cross-sectional approaches.
The goal of this study was to investigate recovery of intellectual function as a function of age at the time of a brain lesion. Participants with unilateral cortical lesions were selected from an initial data base of 685 patients. Ninety-six participants formed a longitudinal cohort for a first study and 314 participants formed a cross-sectional cohort for a second study. Participants of each study were split into two age groups according to the age at the time of the lesion: (1) before 7 years, (2) 7 years or more. Results showed a significantly different recovery profile as a function of age in the longitudinal study. Older participants manifested recovery on VIQ and PIQ, while younger participants presented stable profiles. The longitudinal and cross-sectional studies revealed differing recovery profiles as a function of age. Results are discussed in the context of the Kennard principle and with regard to the methodological approaches.
Duval
J
J
Département de Psychologie, Centre de Neuroscience de la Cognition, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada. Braun.Claude@uqam.ca
Dumont
M
M
Braun
C M J
CM
Montour-Proulx
I
I
D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D020127:Recovery of Function; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology