The present continuation proposal aims to study developmental brain-behavior relationships through further longitudinal assessment of the language, cognitive, academic and emotional sequelae presented by children with unilateral left or right brain lesions. Thirty-eight children with CT scan confirmed unilateral lesions of vascular origin (24 left and 14 right) have been studied thus far in comparison to control children matched by age, sex, race, social class; a total of 50 lesioned and 50 control children are projected for inclusion during the next 3 years. Continued study will permit: 1) more detailed longitudinal follow-up of the behaviors examined to date including syntactic comprehension and production, conceptual aspects of semantics, phonological abilities as revealed in speech, reading and spelling, IQ and cognitive pattern stability over time, and reading, math and written language achievement; 2) expanded study of behaviors previously not examined addressing personality and emotional adjustment and aspects of cognitive processing, including impulse inhibition, ability to sustain and shift attention, visual and auditory memory, and visual-perceptual abilities; and 3) more refined definition of the neuroanatomic characteristics of the unilateral brain lesions and volumetric quantification of lesion size through three dimensional reconstructions of magnetic resonance images. Thus, more reliable relationships may be drawn between behavioral measures and lesion site and size. Theoretically, the study will continue to address the issues of early hemispheric specialization for cognitive functions versus the ability of higher cortical functions to recover following unilateral lesions incurred in childhood. The clinical significance of the study is in detailing the nature of an prognosis for behavioral sequelae following brain lesions in children, a concern basic to the clinical practice of professionals caring for brain lesioned children and of fundamental importance to these children and their families.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS017366-10
Application #
3397519
Study Section
Sensory Disorders and Language Study Section (CMS)
Project Start
1981-09-01
Project End
1994-08-31
Budget Start
1990-09-01
Budget End
1991-08-31
Support Year
10
Fiscal Year
1990
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Case Western Reserve University
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
077758407
City
Cleveland
State
OH
Country
United States
Zip Code
44106
Eisele, J A; Aram, D M (1994) Comprehension and imitation of syntax following early hemisphere damage. Brain Lang 46:212-31
Aram, D M; Eisele, J A (1994) Intellectual stability in children with unilateral brain lesions. Neuropsychologia 32:85-95
Ashcraft, M H; Yamashita, T S; Aram, D M (1992) Mathematics performance in left and right brain-lesioned children and adolescents. Brain Cogn 19:208-52
Aram, D M; Meyers, S C; Ekelman, B L (1990) Fluency of conversational speech in children with unilateral brain lesions. Brain Lang 38:105-21
Papanicolaou, A C; DiScenna, A; Gillespie, L et al. (1990) Probe-evoked potential findings following unilateral left-hemisphere lesions in children. Arch Neurol 47:562-6
Aram, D M; Ekelman, B L (1988) Auditory temporal perception of children with left or right brain lesions. Neuropsychologia 26:931-5
Aram, D M (1988) Language sequelae of unilateral brain lesions in children. Res Publ Assoc Res Nerv Ment Dis 66:171-97
Aram, D M; Ekelman, B L (1987) Unilateral brain lesions in childhood: performance on the Revised Token Test. Brain Lang 32:137-58
Aram, D M; Ekelman, B L; Satz, P (1986) Trophic changes following early unilateral injury to the brain. Dev Med Child Neurol 28:165-70
Aram, D M; Ekelman, B L; Whitaker, H A (1986) Spoken syntax in children with acquired unilateral hemisphere lesions. Brain Lang 27:75-100

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