title: Altered Recruitment of the Attention Network Is Associated with Disability and Cognitive Impairment in Pediatric Patients with Acquired Brain Injury.
abstract: We assessed abnormalities of brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activity during a sustained attention task (Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CCPT)) in 20 right-handed pediatric acquired brain injury (ABI) patients versus 7 right-handed age-matched healthy controls, and we estimated the correlation of such abnormalities with clinical and cognitive deficits. Patients underwent the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) evaluations. During fMRI, patients and controls activated regions of the attention network. Compared to controls, ABI patients experienced a decreased average fMRI recruitment of the left cerebellum and a decreased deactivation of the left anterior cingulate cortex. With increasing task demand, compared to controls, ABI patients had an impaired ability to increase the recruitment of several posterior regions of the attention network. They also experienced a greater activation of frontal regions, which was correlated with worse performance on FIM, WISC, and fMRI CCPT. Such abnormal brain recruitment was significantly influenced by the type of lesion (focal versus diffuse axonal injury) and time elapsed from the event. Pediatric ABI patients experienced an inability to optimize attention network recruitment, especially when task difficulty was increased, which likely contributes to their clinical and cognitive deficits.
authors.affiliation: Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute "Eugenio Medea", Via Don Luigi Monza 20, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Italy.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strazzer
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy ; Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rocca
authors.affiliation: Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute "Eugenio Medea", Via Don Luigi Monza 20, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Italy ; Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Molteni
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy ; Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Ermelinda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Meo
authors.affiliation: Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute "Eugenio Medea", Via Don Luigi Monza 20, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Recla
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valsasina
authors.affiliation: Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute "Eugenio Medea", Via Don Luigi Monza 20, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arrigoni
authors.affiliation: Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute "Eugenio Medea", Via Don Luigi Monza 20, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Italy.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galbiati
authors.affiliation: Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute "Eugenio Medea", Via Don Luigi Monza 20, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bardoni
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy ; Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Filippi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D020833:Diffuse Axonal Injury / Q000473:pathology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059906:Neuroimaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011999:Recruitment, Neurophysiological