Planning and problem solving skills following focal frontal brain lesions in childhood: analysis using the Tower of London.
Problem solving skills were investigated in children with focal lesions using the Tower of London test (TOL; Shallice, 1982). The scoring procedure was elaborated from previous studies to delineate separate processes contributing to overall performance in children. Thirty-one children with focal frontal pathology, 18 children with focal pathology in other brain regions (extra-frontal), 17 children with generalized pathology and 38 healthy children participated in the study. Results suggest a distributed network for problem solving skills, particularly cognitive flexibility and goal setting skills. Within the frontal group, children with lesions involving the right pre-frontal cortex had greatest problems with self-regulation, with rule breaks most common among this group. As these skills develop relatively early in comparison to other aspects of executive function, right pre-frontal regions may play a particularly important role in the development of executive skills in childhood, with damage to these regions rendering children vulnerable to a range of cognitive and social deficits.
Jacobs
Rani
R
Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. jacobsr@cryptic.rch.unimelb.edu.au
Anderson
Vicki
V
D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011340:Problem Solving; D012720:Severity of Illness Index