title: Visual-perceptual impairment in children with periventricular leukomalacia.
abstract: We set out to define visuo-perceptual impairment related to periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) using the Developmental Test of Visual Perception (DTVP). Correlations were sought between visual-perceptual deficits and DTVP profile and neuroradiological and neurophthalmological findings. The DTVP was administered to 20 children (m/f: 10/10), aged between 5 and 8 years (mean: 6.95 years), presenting with: spastic diplegia; PVL documented by brain MRI; normal or mildly impaired visual acuity; mild-moderate upper limb functional impairment. The mean General Visual-Perceptual Quotient was impaired, showing a great variability among the patients. Despite this, an uneven DTPV profile, characterised by a significant difference between the VMIQ and the Non-Motor Visual-Perceptual Quotient (P < 0.001) and a poor result on the Closure subtest (identification of whole figures from incomplete visual information) was observed in all the subjects. This profile reflects a deficit in eye-hand coordination and in praxic-constructional abilities and could be the expression of malfunctioning of the occipital-parietal pathway of visual integration, the so-called 'dorsal stream,' a hypothesis reinforced by the emergence of a statistically significant correlation between the neuroradiological data and the presence of visual-perceptual impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, IRCSS C. Mondino Foundation, via Ferrata, 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy. efazzi@unipv.it
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fazzi
authors.forename: Stefania Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bova
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Uggetti
authors.forename: Sabrina Giovanna
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Signorini
authors.forename: Paolo Emilio
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maraucci
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zoppello
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lanzi
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007969:Leukomalacia, Periventricular / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008959:Models, Neurological; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015835:Ocular Motility Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011859:Radiography; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology