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Neurodevelopmental differences in verbal fluency in children
376
Abstracts of 15th Annual Meeting
therefore, choose actions that are in their long-term best interests (Damasio, Tranel, & Damasio, 1990). We propose that our patient and others who could be classified in the ADD spectrum may have congenital dysfunction of this neural network.
Chervinsky, A. B., & Ommaya, A. K. Head Injury Rehabilitation Motivation Questionnaire: Convergent Validation With MMPI-2. Head Injury Rehabilitation Motivation Questionnaire (HIRM) was correlated with the MMPI-2 in 76 traumatically brain injured patients (median days of post traumatic amnesia = 6; median days post injury = 115). The HIRM full scale significantly, positively and moderately correlated with several MMPI-2 variables. Of the 10 clinical scales, HIRM correlated 0.40 with Hypochondriasis (Hs), 0.38 with Depression (D), 0.34 with Hysteria (Hy) and 0.34 with Psychoasthenia (Pt). Of the MMPI-2 subscales selected for the current study, HIRM correlated 0.36 with Harries and Lingoes Lassitude-Malaise (Hy3), 0.41 with Harris Lingoes Somatic Complaints (Hy4), 0.40 with Wiener and Harmon Hysteria-Obvious, and 0.49 with MMPI-2 Health Concerns Content Scale (HEA). The factor-derived subscales of the HIRM showed few substantial differences in their correlations with the MMPI-2, as compared to the full HIRM scale. Interest in Rehabilitation and Denial subscales demonstrated the highest and most similar correlations to the full scale. Anger and Excessive Enthusiasm showed fewer notable correlations with the MMPI-2 variables. The moderate size of the observed correlations suggests that HIRM contributes novel information about the subjects' status. Overall, it appears that head injured individuals with high HIRM scores are likely to be concerned about health, and demonstrate some signs of depression and anxiety. Chervinsky, A. B., & Ommaya, A. K. Head Injury Rehabilitation Motivation Questionnaire: Reliability and Factor Analysis. A 40-item, likert-scale questionnaire was developed to assess post-acute motivation for participation in rehabilitation by patients having sustained a traumatic brain injury. Items were designed to reflect head injured individuals' statements in regard to their attitudes toward head injury rehabilitation. It was hypothesized that factors such as anger, denial of illness, compliance with treatment, and medical information seeking behavior constitute unfavorable and favorable components of motivation for rehabilitation. One hundred and ten mild to severe traumatically brain injured patients were evaluated. Reliability was assessed using Chronbach's Alpha, which was found to be 0.92. The questionnaire was factor analyzed and four subscales were identified: Denial, Anger, Interest in Treatment, and Excessive Enthusiasm. The four-factor solution accounted for 49.1% of the variance. Three of the four subscales were found to have high reliability coefficients (Denial = 0.87, Anger = 0.85, and Interest in Treatment = 0.85). Excessive Enthusiasm had a lower Chronbach's Alpha (0.73). Cohen, M. J., Morgan, A., Vaughn, M., Hail, J., & Riccio, C. A. Neurodevelopmental Differences in Verbal Fluency in Children. Previous research studies have shown that in adults, verbal fluency is impaired after lesion to the frontal lobes and left temporal lobe. More recently, there have been a few studies that indicated that in children like adults, left hemisphere and frontal lesions result in pronounced effects on verbal fluency. The present study examined neurodevelopmental differences in verbal fluency within a sample of 130 normal 6-12-year-olds. Additionally, the same verbal fluency test was administered to two subgroups of children with Developmental Dyslexia and a group of children with ADHD. ANOVA revealed significant between group
Abstracts of 15th Annual Meeting
377
differences for age in the normal children. Further, ANOVA demonstrated that the verbal fluency measure was clinically useful in differentiating the Language Disorder/Dysphonetic Dyslexic subgroup from the Visual-Spatial/Dyseidetic dyslexic subgroup and the ADHD group, both of which tended to perform within the average range.
Coilette, M. A., Weeks, M., Thompson, S., Gellineau, E., & Grant, S. Capacity of Children With Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NLD) to Organize Higher Order Language as a Function of Response Modality. This study examines the capacity of NLD children to organize and formulate higher order language by constructing a story about a picture from the Test of Written Language-II as a function of output medium: handwritten versus computer generated. Twenty-five 9-14year-old boys and girls with NLD (serial admissions to an outpatient pediatric neurological clinic) were given, in counterbalanced order of presentation, the TOWL-2 in written form by a neuropsychologist and on a computer by a speech-language therapist. NLD was diagnosed by (a) VIQ higher than PIQ on the WISC-III, and (b) Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test performance poorly integrated and organized. Overall scores on the TOWL-2 for word processed scores were higher (p < .05) than for handwritten stories, and tended to be higher for specific organizational components as well. Average scores did not differ for the children with more frontal-associated findings compared to those with more posterior-associated higher cortical findings.
Combs, D. R., Livingston, R. B., & Ford, K. L. Cluster Analysis of Wechsler Factor Scores: Learning Disabled Students. To derive subtypes of Learning Disabled (LD) students, a cluster analysis was performed on Wechsler Factor Scores: Verbal Comprehension (VC), Perceptual Organization (PC), and Freedom From Distractibility (FFD), in a sample of 203 LD students (6-16 years). Cluster 1 was characterized by relatively good performance on the PO factor and relatively poor performance on the FFD factor. Cluster 2 was characterized by fairly even performance on the three factor scores. Cluster 3 reflected relatively good performance on the VC factor and poor performance on the FFD factor. Cluster 4 was characterized by relatively good performance on the VC factor and poor performance on the PO factor. Subsequent Profile Analysis of achievement scores revealed that the four groups were parallel (i.e., similar in pattern), but not coincident (i.e., similar in level). Cluster 4 subjects displayed the best performance on the achievement tests while Cluster 1 subjects demonstrated the lowest level of achievement. These results suggest that the VC and FFD factors were primary in determining achievement scores (i.e., Basic Reading, Math Calculations, and Spelling). Surprisingly, the PO factor had the lowest correlation with all the achievement scores. Results are discussed in terms of remediation of learning disabilities.
Connell, B. E., Harver, A., Tebbutt, D., & Wilner, A. N. Assessment of Quality of Life by QOLI and QOLIE-89 Yields Differential Effects in Patients With Intractable Epilepsy Versus Pseudoseizures. Multiple psychosocial measures might distinguish patients with intractable epilepsy from those with pseudoseizures better than a singl~ measure. Patients with intractable spells were admitted to an in-patient epilepsy monitoring unit. All patients received the same clinical interview, EEG/video monitoring, and two standardized assessments of quality of life (Quality of Life Inventory [QOLI], Quality of Life in Epilepsy, Research Edition [QOLIE89]) before being diagnosed with intractable epilepsy (ESZ n = 14) or pseudoseizures (PSZ
Abstracts of 15th Annual Meeting
therefore, choose actions that are in their long-term best interests (Damasio, Tranel, & Damasio, 1990). We propose that our patient and others who could be classified in the ADD spectrum may have congenital dysfunction of this neural network.
Chervinsky, A. B., & Ommaya, A. K. Head Injury Rehabilitation Motivation Questionnaire: Convergent Validation With MMPI-2. Head Injury Rehabilitation Motivation Questionnaire (HIRM) was correlated with the MMPI-2 in 76 traumatically brain injured patients (median days of post traumatic amnesia = 6; median days post injury = 115). The HIRM full scale significantly, positively and moderately correlated with several MMPI-2 variables. Of the 10 clinical scales, HIRM correlated 0.40 with Hypochondriasis (Hs), 0.38 with Depression (D), 0.34 with Hysteria (Hy) and 0.34 with Psychoasthenia (Pt). Of the MMPI-2 subscales selected for the current study, HIRM correlated 0.36 with Harries and Lingoes Lassitude-Malaise (Hy3), 0.41 with Harris Lingoes Somatic Complaints (Hy4), 0.40 with Wiener and Harmon Hysteria-Obvious, and 0.49 with MMPI-2 Health Concerns Content Scale (HEA). The factor-derived subscales of the HIRM showed few substantial differences in their correlations with the MMPI-2, as compared to the full HIRM scale. Interest in Rehabilitation and Denial subscales demonstrated the highest and most similar correlations to the full scale. Anger and Excessive Enthusiasm showed fewer notable correlations with the MMPI-2 variables. The moderate size of the observed correlations suggests that HIRM contributes novel information about the subjects' status. Overall, it appears that head injured individuals with high HIRM scores are likely to be concerned about health, and demonstrate some signs of depression and anxiety. Chervinsky, A. B., & Ommaya, A. K. Head Injury Rehabilitation Motivation Questionnaire: Reliability and Factor Analysis. A 40-item, likert-scale questionnaire was developed to assess post-acute motivation for participation in rehabilitation by patients having sustained a traumatic brain injury. Items were designed to reflect head injured individuals' statements in regard to their attitudes toward head injury rehabilitation. It was hypothesized that factors such as anger, denial of illness, compliance with treatment, and medical information seeking behavior constitute unfavorable and favorable components of motivation for rehabilitation. One hundred and ten mild to severe traumatically brain injured patients were evaluated. Reliability was assessed using Chronbach's Alpha, which was found to be 0.92. The questionnaire was factor analyzed and four subscales were identified: Denial, Anger, Interest in Treatment, and Excessive Enthusiasm. The four-factor solution accounted for 49.1% of the variance. Three of the four subscales were found to have high reliability coefficients (Denial = 0.87, Anger = 0.85, and Interest in Treatment = 0.85). Excessive Enthusiasm had a lower Chronbach's Alpha (0.73). Cohen, M. J., Morgan, A., Vaughn, M., Hail, J., & Riccio, C. A. Neurodevelopmental Differences in Verbal Fluency in Children. Previous research studies have shown that in adults, verbal fluency is impaired after lesion to the frontal lobes and left temporal lobe. More recently, there have been a few studies that indicated that in children like adults, left hemisphere and frontal lesions result in pronounced effects on verbal fluency. The present study examined neurodevelopmental differences in verbal fluency within a sample of 130 normal 6-12-year-olds. Additionally, the same verbal fluency test was administered to two subgroups of children with Developmental Dyslexia and a group of children with ADHD. ANOVA revealed significant between group
Abstracts of 15th Annual Meeting
377
differences for age in the normal children. Further, ANOVA demonstrated that the verbal fluency measure was clinically useful in differentiating the Language Disorder/Dysphonetic Dyslexic subgroup from the Visual-Spatial/Dyseidetic dyslexic subgroup and the ADHD group, both of which tended to perform within the average range.
Coilette, M. A., Weeks, M., Thompson, S., Gellineau, E., & Grant, S. Capacity of Children With Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NLD) to Organize Higher Order Language as a Function of Response Modality. This study examines the capacity of NLD children to organize and formulate higher order language by constructing a story about a picture from the Test of Written Language-II as a function of output medium: handwritten versus computer generated. Twenty-five 9-14year-old boys and girls with NLD (serial admissions to an outpatient pediatric neurological clinic) were given, in counterbalanced order of presentation, the TOWL-2 in written form by a neuropsychologist and on a computer by a speech-language therapist. NLD was diagnosed by (a) VIQ higher than PIQ on the WISC-III, and (b) Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test performance poorly integrated and organized. Overall scores on the TOWL-2 for word processed scores were higher (p < .05) than for handwritten stories, and tended to be higher for specific organizational components as well. Average scores did not differ for the children with more frontal-associated findings compared to those with more posterior-associated higher cortical findings.
Combs, D. R., Livingston, R. B., & Ford, K. L. Cluster Analysis of Wechsler Factor Scores: Learning Disabled Students. To derive subtypes of Learning Disabled (LD) students, a cluster analysis was performed on Wechsler Factor Scores: Verbal Comprehension (VC), Perceptual Organization (PC), and Freedom From Distractibility (FFD), in a sample of 203 LD students (6-16 years). Cluster 1 was characterized by relatively good performance on the PO factor and relatively poor performance on the FFD factor. Cluster 2 was characterized by fairly even performance on the three factor scores. Cluster 3 reflected relatively good performance on the VC factor and poor performance on the FFD factor. Cluster 4 was characterized by relatively good performance on the VC factor and poor performance on the PO factor. Subsequent Profile Analysis of achievement scores revealed that the four groups were parallel (i.e., similar in pattern), but not coincident (i.e., similar in level). Cluster 4 subjects displayed the best performance on the achievement tests while Cluster 1 subjects demonstrated the lowest level of achievement. These results suggest that the VC and FFD factors were primary in determining achievement scores (i.e., Basic Reading, Math Calculations, and Spelling). Surprisingly, the PO factor had the lowest correlation with all the achievement scores. Results are discussed in terms of remediation of learning disabilities.
Connell, B. E., Harver, A., Tebbutt, D., & Wilner, A. N. Assessment of Quality of Life by QOLI and QOLIE-89 Yields Differential Effects in Patients With Intractable Epilepsy Versus Pseudoseizures. Multiple psychosocial measures might distinguish patients with intractable epilepsy from those with pseudoseizures better than a singl~ measure. Patients with intractable spells were admitted to an in-patient epilepsy monitoring unit. All patients received the same clinical interview, EEG/video monitoring, and two standardized assessments of quality of life (Quality of Life Inventory [QOLI], Quality of Life in Epilepsy, Research Edition [QOLIE89]) before being diagnosed with intractable epilepsy (ESZ n = 14) or pseudoseizures (PSZ