Citation

Fuentes A, McKay C, Hay C. Brain Inj. 2010; 24(7-8): 995-1002.

Affiliation

York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.3109/02699052.2010.489791

PMID

20515361

Abstract

Primary objective: The current study examined the relationship between neuropsychological performance and cognitive reserve (as measured by word reading and vocabulary tasks) in children with TBI. Research design: Retrospective records analysis of the neuropsychological test results of 52 participants with medically documented traumatic brain injuries, ranging from 6-16 years of age. Main outcome and results: Indicators of cognitive reserve were not correlated with the majority of well-recognized neuropsychological measures. Conclusions: Although past research has found that verbal ability is a valid indicator of CR in adult populations, the present study found evidence against the validity of this traditional reserve proxy when applied to the paediatric population. These findings suggest one of two conclusions: (1) measures used to indicate CR in adult populations (word reading, vocabulary) are not valid indicators of cognitive reserve in paediatric populations; and/or (2) the measures themselves are valid, yet there is simply not a significant relationship between cognitive reserve and short-term (i.e. less than 6 months) neuropsychological outcome in paediatric TBI.

Language: en