Executive functioning in children with congenital hemiplegia

Abstract

Background and Aims: Early brain injury, as in congenital hemiplegia (CH), can cause deficits in higher-order cognitive tasks known as executive functions. This can disrupt normal development by impeding the child's ability to effectively interact with their environment and acquire new skills. The aim of this study was to investigate executive functioning in children with congenital hemiplegia. Methods: A cross-sectional cohort of forty-six children with CH (25 male; mean age 11.08 [SD 2.38], range 8-16 years, including 24 right [R], 22 left [L] CH; GMFCS I = 35, II = 11) and twenty typically developing children (TDC; 9 male; mean age 10.8 [SD 2.29], range 8-16 years) were included. Four domains of executive function were assessed: attentional control; cognitive flexibility; goal setting; and information processing utilising neuropsychological assessments. Between-group differences (CH vs. TDC and R vs. L) on measures of EF were examined in a series of one-way analyses of covariance. An overall composite of EF measures was created by standardising and aggregating all measures, (alpha) = .93. Results: Children with CH performed significantly poorer on measures of executive functioning compared to TDC (aggregate executive function: F(1, 63) = 31.16, p