Predictors of attention in children with brain lesions
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1
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Australia
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2
University of Melbourne, Australia
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3
Royal Children's Hospital, Australia
Objective: Attention problems are common in children with brain lesions. Attention skills are fundamental to everyday functioning and are underpinned by frontal networks. This study aimed to identify predictors of attention in children with focal brain lesions. Method: The sample included 138 children aged 10-16 years with focal brain lesions sustained across development, from the first trimester through to adolescence, recruited from the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. Children were assessed for various attention skills and brain lesion characteristics were coded from MRI scans. Caregivers completed questionnaires to assess environmental factors. Results: Seizure history, particularly for children with lesion onset before 3 years of age, and size of brain lesion were predictive of poorer attention, with little evidence that lesion location (frontal lobe involvement, laterality) and environmental factors (social risk, family functioning) were predictive. Predictors were similar across the various attention skills. Conclusions: Factors that appear to impact on the development of attention in children with brain lesions are seizures, particularly for children with lesion onset before 3 years of age, and larger lesion size. Results suggest less specificity of brain regions for attention skills in children.
Conference:
The 20th Annual Rotman Research Institute Conference, The frontal lobes, Toronto, Canada, 22 Mar - 26 Mar, 2010.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Frontal Lobe Development
Citation:
Anderson
PJ,
Anderson
VA,
Coleman
L,
Jacobs
RJ,
Lee
K and
Spencer-Smith
MM
(2010). Predictors of attention in children with brain lesions.
Conference Abstract:
The 20th Annual Rotman Research Institute Conference, The frontal lobes.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.14.00078
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Received:
29 Jun 2010;
Published Online:
29 Jun 2010.
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Correspondence:
M. M Spencer-Smith, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, megan.spencer-smith@mcri.edu.au