Prospective memory in adults with spina bifida.
BACKGROUND
Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders have been observed to show accelerated cognitive aging or even dementia as early as 30 and 40 years of age. Memory deficits are an important component of age-related cognitive loss.


METHODS
In this study, we investigated prospective memory, which is often impaired in aging, in a group of 32 adults with spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM), including members of the oldest living cohort successfully treated with shunts to divert excess cerebrospinal fluid, ventriculomegaly, and hydrocephalus, who are now around 50 years of age. Seventeen typically developing adults provided a comparison group.


RESULTS
The SBM and comparison groups differed in the prospective memory total score as well as in both time-based and event-based subscores. Prospective memory was impaired in both older and younger individuals with SBM. However, the percentage of individuals with impaired or poor prospective memory was three times higher in the older SBM group than in the younger SBM group. The results are considered in relation to specific features of the complex brain reorganization in SBM.
Dennis
Maureen
M
Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada. maureen.dennis@sickkids.ca
Nelson
Rebekah
R
Jewell
Derryn
D
Fletcher
Jack M
JM
D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000150:complications*
Neurol Res. 2000 Jan;22(1):29-36
10672578
J Intellect Disabil Res. 2000 Dec;44 ( Pt 6):654-65
11115020
J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2007 Mar;13(2):312-23
17286888
Childs Nerv Syst. 2009 Nov;25(11):1447-53
19672605
J Neurosurg. 2005 Apr;102(3 Suppl):268-79
15881750
Am J Epidemiol. 1992 Dec 15;136(12):1493-501
1288279
Eur Neurol. 2002;47(3):169-74
11914556
Arch Neurol. 1981 Oct;38(10):607-15
6975094
Neuropsychologia. 2008;46(7):1954-64
18329672
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1999 Nov;67(5):591-5
10519863
J Magn Reson Imaging. 2008 Apr;27(4):700-9
18302204
Neuropsychology. 1998 Oct;12(4):578-89
9805328
Dev Med Child Neurol. 2003 Dec;45(12):813-20
14667073
Dev Neuropsychol. 2002;21(2):141-55
12139196
Neuropsychologia. 2009 Jun;47(7):1660-9
19397861
Z Kinderchir Grenzgeb. 1979 Dec;28(4):354-60
551621
Dev Med Child Neurol Suppl. 1969;20:75-7
4905066
Mem Cognit. 2002 Sep;30(6):871-84
12450091
Neurol Res. 2000 Jan;22(1):131-6
10672592
Behav Brain Res. 2002 Feb 1;129(1-2):31-9
11809492
Childs Nerv Syst. 2008 May;24(5):563-75
18026960
Psychol Aging. 2004 Mar;19(1):27-39
15065929
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2000 May;68(5):615-21
10766893
Brain Lang. 2002 Mar;80(3):592-602
11896659
J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2008 Sep;14(5):673-90
18764966
J Gen Psychol. 2008 Jan;135(1):4-22
18318405
Neuroimage. 2008 May 1;40(4):1516-22
18337124
J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2004 Sep;10(5):655-63
15327713
Scand J Psychol. 1987;28(4):313-21
3449942
Pediatrics. 1991 Aug;88(2):280-5
1861926
Mem Cognit. 2004 Oct;32(7):1133-48
15813495
Am J Dis Child. 1974 May;127(5):664-71
4596643
Memory. 2009 Feb;17(2):180-96
18608976
Neuropsychologia. 2005;43(3):418-33
15707617
Childs Nerv Syst. 2006 Feb;22(2):117-24
16170574
J Pediatr Psychol. 1995 Dec;20(6):801-15
8558379