Language comprehension in nonspeaking children with severe cerebral palsy: Neuroanatomical substrate?. (September 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Geytenbeek, Joke J.; Oostrom, Kim J.; Harlaar, Laurike; Becher, Jules G.; Knol, Dirk L.; Barkhof, Frederik; Pinto, Pedro S.; Vermeulen, R. Jeroen
• Is Part Of: European journal of paediatric neurology. Volume 19:Number 5(2015:Sep.)
• Page Start: 510
• Page End: 520
• Publication Date: 2015-09
• Subjects: Pediatric neurology -- Periodicals; Nervous System Diseases -- Periodicals; Child -- Periodicals; Infant -- Periodicals; Neurologie pédiatrique -- Périodiques; Pediatric neurology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 618.928
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2015.06.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1090-3798

Abstract

<abstract xml:lang="en" abstract-type="author" id="abs0010"> <title id="sectitle0010">Abstract</title> <sec> <title id="sectitle0015">Background and aims</title> <p id="abspara0010">To identify relations between brain abnormalities and spoken language comprehension, MRI characteristics of 80 nonspeaking children with severe CP were examined.</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sectitle0020">Methods</title> <p id="abspara0015">MRI scans were analysed for patterns of brain abnormalities and scored for specific MRI measures: white matter (WM) areas; size of lateral ventricles, WM abnormality/reduction, cysts, subarachnoid space, corpus callosum thinning and grey matter (GM) areas; cortical GM abnormalities, thalamus, putamen, globus pallidus and nucleus caudatus and cerebellar abnormalities. Language comprehension was assessed with a new validated instrument (C-BiLLT).</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sectitle0025">Results</title> <p id="abspara0020">MRI scans of 35 children were classified as a basal ganglia necrosis (BGN) pattern, with damage to central GM areas; in 60% of these children damage to WM areas was also found. MRI scans of 13 children were classified as periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) with little concomitant damage to central GM areas, 13 as malformations and 19 as miscellaneous. Language comprehension was best in children with BGN, followed by malformations and miscellaneous, and was poorest in PVL. Linear regression modelling per pattern group (malformations excluded), with MRI measures as independent variables, revealed that corpus callosum thinning in BGN and parieto-occipital WM reduction in PVL were the most important explanatory factors for poor language comprehension. No MRI measures explained outcomes in language comprehension in the miscellaneous group.</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sectitle0030">Conclusions</title> <p id="abspara0025">Comprehension of spoken language differs between MRI patterns of severe CP. In children with BGN and PVL differences in language comprehension performance is attributed to damage in the WM areas. Language comprehension was most affected in children with WM lesions in the subcortical and then periventricular areas, most characteristic for children with PVL.</p> </sec> </abstract>