OBJECTIVETo investigate the neuropsychological characteristics of selective attention such as attention control, working memory and attention persistence of frontal lobe in children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD).

METHODSWith Auditory Detection Test (ADT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and C-WISC, 14 children with NLD and 23 controls were tested and the results of sub-tests of C-WISC were analyzed with factor analysis. ADT was mainly applied to test the ability of auditory discernment and the function of dominance lateralization in the cerebra; WCST was employed to test the function of working memory which was based on the frontal lobe, and, C-WISC, to test the intelligent structure and characteristics.

RESULTSCompared with control group, the correct response rate of ADT in NLD group was much lower (P < 0.01), and the number of incorrect response was much larger (P < 0.01). Children with NLD had deficits of auditory selective attention. Moreover, the number of categories achieved (CA) and perseverative error (PE) of WCST were much lower (P < 0.05), which indicated that children with NLD had the disorders of selective attention and performance function. Factor analysis showed that perceptual organization (PO) related to visual space and freedom from distractibility (FD) related to attention persistence in NLD group were obviously lower than those in control group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). These findings further supported the above-mentioned results.

CONCLUSIONSChildren with NLD had attention control disorder and working memory disorder mainly in frontal lobe; we suppose that the disorder in right frontal lobe was distinctive.

Attention ; Child ; Frontal Lobe ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Language Development Disorders ; physiopathology ; Learning Disorders ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Memory, Short-Term ; Neuropsychological Tests

With the development of information technology, as one of the research frontiers in neurophysiology, event-related potentials (ERP) is concerned increasingly by international scholars, which provides a feasible and objective method for exploring cognitive function. There are many advances in neuropsychology due to new assessment tool for the last years. The basic theories in the field of ERP and neuropsychology were reviewed in this article. The research and development in evaluating cognitive function of patients with syndrome after brain trauma were focused in this review, and the perspectives for the future research of ERP was also explored.
Brain/physiopathology* ; Brain Injuries/physiopathology* ; Cognition Disorders/physiopathology* ; Electroencephalography ; Event-Related Potentials, P300/physiology* ; Evoked Potentials/physiology* ; Humans ; Language Disorders/physiopathology* ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Neuropsychology

OBJECTIVETo compare the differences in the clinical efficacy on post-stroke speech disorder between scalp electric acupuncture (EA) under anatomic orientation combined with rehabilitation training and simple rehabilitation training.

METHODSSixty patients of post-stroke speech apraxia were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each one. In the observation group, under anatomic orientation, the scalp EA was adopted to the dominant hemisphere Broca area on the left cerebrum. Additionally, the speech rehabilitation training was combined. In the control group, the speech rehabilitation training was simply,used. The treatment lasted for 4 weeks totally. The speech movement program module in the psychological language assessment and treatment system of Chinese aphasia was used for the evident of efficacy assessment. The scores of counting, singing scale, repeating phonetic alphabet, repeating monosyllable and repeating disyllable were observed in the patients of the two groups. The assessment was done separately on the day of grouping and 4 weeks after treatment.

RESULTSIn 4 weeks of treatment, the scores of counting, singing scale, repeating phonetic alphabet, repeating monosyllable and repeating disyllable were all improved as compared with those before treatment in the two groups (all P<0. 001). The results in the observation group were better than those in the control group (all P< 0. 05). The total effective rate was 100. 0% (30/30) in the observation group, superior apparently to 53. 3% (16/30) in the control group (P<0. 001).

CONCLUSIONThe scalp EA under anatomic orientation combined with' speech rehabilitation training obviously improves speech apraxia in stroke patients so that the speech disorder cani be relieved. The efficacy is better than that in simple rehabilitation training.

Acupuncture Points ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Apraxias ; etiology ; physiopathology ; rehabilitation ; therapy ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Humans ; Language ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Speech Disorders ; physiopathology ; rehabilitation ; therapy ; Speech Therapy ; Stroke ; complications ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEThe pathogenesis of electrical status epilepticus during sleep (ESES) in children remains unknown. We undertook a retrospective study of epileptic children who presented with ESES to investigate the correlation factors of ESES.

METHODSThirty epileptic children with ESES (ESES group) and 30 age-and sex-matched epileptic children without ESES (control group) admitted to Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Tangshan between January 2000 and July 2006 were enrolled. The results of questionnaire and laboratory examinations were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSNine patients had a family history of epilepsy in the ESES group, but only 2 patients in the control group (<0.05). Language disorder was found in 11 patients in the ESES group, but only 2 patients in the control group (<0.05). Thirteen patients were confirmed with epileptic syndrome in the ESES group, but only 5 patients in the control group (<0.05). Twenty five patients in the ESES group showed mental retardation, but only 5 patients from the control group (<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSESES may be correlated with family history of epilepsy, epileptic syndrome, mental retardation and language disorder.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; physiopathology ; Language Disorders ; physiopathology ; Male ; Maternal Age ; Paternal Age ; Sleep ; physiology ; Status Epilepticus ; etiology ; genetics

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cognitive effects of chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: Using several databases, prospective studies were collected up to August 2011. Of 2,106 publications identified, 12 met the inclusion criteria, and 8 studies were used to estimate the effect size of chemotherapy on cognitive impairment. RESULTS: Twelve studies were done since 2005 and most of the research was performed in Europe or North America. Eight studies were used to generate effect size across the cognitive domains of attention/concentration, verbal and visual memory, executive function, visuospatial skill, language, and subjective cognitive function. Each of the cognitive domains showed small effect sizes (-0.02 ~ -0.26), indicating diminished cognitive function for the chemotherapy group compared with non-chemotherapy groups. CONCLUSION: Finding suggests that breast cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy may experience mild cognitive decline. Further study is needed to generate knowledge and guideline for interventions to address chemotherapy related cognitive impairment in these patients.
Antineoplastic Agents/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Breast Neoplasms/*drug therapy ; Cognition Disorders/*physiopathology ; Databases, Factual ; Female ; Humans ; Language Tests ; Memory, Short-Term ; Neuropsychological Tests

The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of children with mental retardation (MR) of unknown etiology for early recognition and intervention. In this study, we defined children with MR of unknown etiology as those without clear etiologies for MR despite extensive evaluation and were not associated with pathological behavioral problems such as pervasive developmental disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The clinical characteristics of children with MR of unknown etiology were as follows. 1) MR of unknown etiology was 48.8% of all MR. 2) MR of unknown etiology was more common in males. 3) Delayed language development was a leading factor that made the parents of children with MR of unknown etiology seek help from physicians. However, most of the children with MR of unknown etiology showed a relatively uniform delay in several areas of development. 4) Most children with MR of unknown etiology were delayed walkers. 5) Most children with MR of unknown etiology were mild cases.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Human ; Korea ; Language Development Disorders ; Male ; Mental Retardation/psychology ; Mental Retardation/physiopathology* ; Mental Retardation/etiology ; Retrospective Studies

The permanent impairment evaluation for children in developmental stage is very difficult and it is even impossible in some cases. The impairment evaluation for developing children has not yet been included in the guideline of the American Medical Association. Due to frequent medical and social demands in Korea, we developed an impairment evaluation guideline for motor impairment, intellectual disability/mental retardation, developmental speech-language disorder and epilepsy caused by pediatric cerebral injuries, or cerebral lesions other than the developmental disorders such as autism. With the help of various literature and foreign institutions, we developed our in order to develop a scientific guideline for pediatric impairment that is suited to Korean cultural background and social condition.
Brain/physiopathology ; Brain Diseases/*complications ; Brain Injuries/complications ; Child ; Developmental Disabilities/classification/*diagnosis/etiology ; *Disability Evaluation ; *Disabled Children ; Humans ; Korea ; Language Development Disorders/classification/diagnosis/etiology ; Mental Disorders/classification/diagnosis/etiology ; Program Development ; Seizures/classification/diagnosis/etiology ; Severity of Illness Index