Number Processing and Calculation in Brazilian Children Aged 7-12 Years

Numerical cognition is based on two components - number processing and calculation. Its development is influenced by biological, cognitive, educational, and cultural factors. The objectives of the present study were to: i) assess number processing and calculation in Brazilian children aged 7-12 years from public schools using the Zareki-R (Battery of neuropsychological tests for number processing and calculation in children, Revised; von Aster & Dellatolas, 2006) in order to obtain normative data for Portuguese speakers; ii) identify how environment, age, and gender influences the development of these mathematical skills; iii) investigate the construct validity of the Zareki-R by the contrast with the Arithmetic subtest of WISC-III. The sample included 172 children, both genders, divided in two groups: urban (N = 119) and rural (N = 53) assessed by the Zareki-R. Rural children presented lower scores in one aspect of number processing; children aged 7-8 years demonstrated an inferior global score than older; boys presented a superior performance in both number processing and calculation. Construct validity of Zareki-R was demonstrated by high to moderate correlations with Arithmetic subtest of WISC-III. The Zareki-R therefore is a suitable instrument to assess the development of mathematical skills, which is influenced by factors such as environment, age, and gende

The role of cerebellum in the child neuropsychological functioning

International audienceThis chapter proposes a review of neuropsychologic and behavior findings in pediatric pathologies of the cerebellum, including cerebellar malformations, pediatric ataxias, cerebellar tumors, and other acquired cerebellar injuries during childhood. The chapter also contains reviews of the cerebellar mutism/posterior fossa syndrome, reported cognitive associations with the development of the cerebellum in typically developing children and subjects born preterm, and the role of the cerebellum in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders and developmental dyslexia. Cognitive findings in pediatric cerebellar disorders are considered in the context of known cerebellocerebral connections, internal cellular organization of the cerebellum, the idea of a universal cerebellar transform and computational internal models, and the role of the cerebellum in specific cognitive and motor functions, such as working memory, language, timing, or control of eye movements. The chapter closes with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the cognitive affective syndrome as it has been described in children and some conclusions and perspectives

Une épreuve simple pour évaluer la préférence manuelle chez l'enfant à partir de 3 ans

In order to determine the manual activities able to assess hand preference in children, we performed a hand preference test with 15 usual objects, in 80 children aged 3-6 y. Principal components analysis selected 8 objects. Furthermore, hand preference was very linked with the most performant hand at a visuomotor task test.80 enfants, âgés de 3 à 6 ans, ont été observés lors de l'utilisation de 15 objets usuels. 8 objets ont été sélectionnés, sur la base d'une analyse en composantes principales, pour la mesure de la préférence manuelle chez V enfant. Les mêmes enfants ont ensuite exécuté une tâche visuo-motrice (Purdue Pegboard). On montre qu'il existe une relation étroite entre la main la plus habile à cette tâche et la préférence manuelle.De Agostini Maria, Dellatolas Georges. Une épreuve simple pour évaluer la préférence manuelle chez l'enfant à partir de 3 ans. In: Enfance, tome 41, n°3-4, 1988. pp. 139-147

Difficultés de langage et de comportement à 3 ans et demi et retard en lecture au cours élémentaire

International audienceMethod: Teachers filled a 29-item questionnaire on language and behavior for 695 children aged 3.5 years. Four years later (2nd grade) the children were evaluated for reading and spelling. Results: the data show a major role of associated factors (educational level of the parents, area of the school) in reading delay, and help to select specific teacher's observations for an early prediction of this delay.Méthode: des enseignants de petite section de maternelle ont répondu à un questionaire (29 items) sur le langage et le comportement de 659 enfants ; en deuxième année de scolarité élémentaire (CE1) des épreuves de lecture et d'orthographe ont été proposées aux mêmes enfants. Les relations entre les observations initiales et finales ont été analysées en tenant compte de facteurs associés : âge, sexe, niveau socio-culturel de la famille, bilinguisme, zone d'implantation de l'école. Résultats: Après prise en compte de l'effet du niveau socio-culturel de la famille et de la zone d'implantation de l'école, certaines appréciations négatives des enseignants de petite section de maternelle ont une valeur prédictive significative du retard en langage écrit quatre ans plus tard

Pediatric traumatic brain injury and abusive head trauma

International audienceChildhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) commonly occurs during brain development and can have direct, immediately observable neurologic, cognitive, and behavioral consequences. However, it can also disrupt subsequent brain development, and long-term outcomes are a combination of preinjury development and abilities, consequences of brain injury, as well as delayed impaired development of skills that were immature at the time of injury. There is a growing number of studies on mild TBI/sport-related concussions, describing initial symptoms and their evolution over time and providing guidelines for effective management of symptoms and return to activity/school/sports. Mild TBI usually does not lead to long-term cognitive or academic consequences, despite reports of behavioral/psychologic issues postinjury. Regarding moderate to severe TBI, injury to the brain is more severe, with evidence of a number of detrimental consequences in various domains. Patients can display neurologic impairments (e.g., motor deficits, signs of cerebellar disorder, posttraumatic epilepsy), medical problems (e.g., endocrine pituitary deficits, sleep-wake abnormalities), or sensory deficits (e.g., visual, olfactory deficits). The most commonly reported deficits are in the cognitive-behavioral field, which tend to be significantly disabling in the long-term, impacting the development of autonomy, socialization and academic achievement, participation, quality of life, and later, independence and ability to enter the workforce (e.g., intellectual deficits, slow processing speed, attention, memory, executive functions deficits, impulsivity, intolerance to frustration). A number of factors influence outcomes following pediatric TBI, including preinjury stage of development and abilities, brain injury severity, age at injury (with younger age at injury most often associated with worse outcomes), and a number of family/environment factors (e.g., parental education and occupation, family functioning, parenting style, warmth and responsiveness, access to rehabilitation and care). Interventions should identify and target these specific factors, given their major role in postinjury outcomes. Abusive head trauma (AHT) occurs in very young children (most often <6 months) and is a form of severe TBI, usually associated with delay before appropriate care is sought. Outcomes are systematically worse following AHT than following accidental TBI, even when controlling for age at injury and injury severity. Children with moderate to severe TBI and AHT usually require specific, coordinated, multidisciplinary, and long-term rehabilitation interventions and school adaptations, until transition to adult services. Interventions should be patient- and family-centered, focusing on specific goals, comprising education about TBI, and promoting optimal parenting, communication, and collaborative problem-solving

Rôle du cervelet dans les apprentissages (approches clinique, épidémiologique et expérimentale)

PARIS-BIUSJ-Thèses (751052125) / SudocPARIS-BIUSJ-Physique recherche (751052113) / SudocSudocFranceF

conceptions du temps chez des enfants atteints de tumeurs cérébrales

International audienc

Difficultés dans les conceptions temporelles après traitement des tumeurs cérébrales malignes

International audienceIn children treated for malignant cerebellar tumors (MCT), there are only a few studies investigating temporal skills, despite a generally admitted role of the cerebellum in time processing. Children’s Time Knowledge (TK) has been defined as the correct representation and use of familiar time units (Labrell, Mikaeloff, Perdry, & Dellatolas, 2016). The present study compares TK in 38 children treated for MCT (mean age 11.6 years) with 105 typically-developing children (TDC).Performances on all TK subtests were significantly lower in the MCT group. The results also confirmed lower mean IQ in children treated for MCT, related to slow processing speed and low performance on working memory and non-verbal tasks. However, low IQ did not explain theconsiderable difficulties in the acquisition of TK.These results are discussed in the light of the role of the cerebellum in time processing and two different models of temporal processing, the internal clock model (Allman, Teki, Griffiths, & Meck, 2014) and the neural network state model (Karmarkar & Buonomano, 2007)

L'acquisition des connaissances temporelles et leurs relations avec les compétences numériques chez des enfants entre 6 et 11 ans

International audienceAcquisition of time knowledge (TK; the correct representation and use of time units) is linked to the development of numerical abilities,but this relationship has not been investigated in children. The current study examined the acquisition of TK and its association with numerical skills. A total of 105 children aged 6 to 11 years were interviewed with our Time Knowledge Questionnaire (TKQ), developed for purposes of this study, and the Zareki-R, a battery for the evaluation of number processing and mental calculation.The TKQ assessed conventional time knowledge (temporal orientation, temporal sequences, relationships between time units, and telling the time on a clock), estimation of longer durations related to birthday and life span, and estimation of the duration of the interview. Time knowledge increased with age, especially from 6 to 8 years, and was strongly linked to numerical skills.Regression analyses showed that four numerical components were implicated in TK: academic knowledge of numbers and numberfacts (e.g., reading Arabic numerals, mental calculation), number line estimation (e.g., correspondence between a number and a distance),contextual estimation (e.g., many/few leaves on a tree, children in a family), and numerical tasks involving verbal working memory (e.g., comparison of numbers presented orally).Numerical correlations with TK varied according to children’s age; subtests based on academic knowledge of numbers, workingmemory, and number line estimation were linked with TK in the younger children, but only contextual estimation was associatedwith TK in the older children

Core deficits and quality of survival after childhood medulloblastoma: a review

International audienceAbstract Background. Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant central nervous system tumor in children. Treatment most often includes surgical resection, craniospinal irradiation, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Although survival has improved dramatically, the tumor and its treatments have devastating long-term side effects that negatively impact quality of survival (QoS). The objective was to review the literature on QoS following childhood medulloblastoma. Methods. This narrative review is based on a Medline database search and examination of the reference lists of papers selected. Results. Frequent problems after medulloblastoma treatment include medical complications, such as long-term neurological and sensory (hearing loss) impairments; endocrine deficits, including growth problems; and secondary tumors. Neurocognitive impairment is repeatedly reported, with decreasing cognitive performances over time. Although all cognitive domains may be affected, low processing speed, attention difficulties, and working memory difficulties are described as the core cognitive deficits resulting from both cerebellar damage and the negative effect of radiation on white matter development. Long-term psychosocial limitations include low academic achievement, unemployment, and poor community integration with social isolation. Important negative prognostic factors include young age at diagnosis, conventional craniospinal radiotherapy, presence of postoperative cerebellar mutism, and perioperative complications. The influence of environmental factors, such as family background and interventions, remains understudied. Conclusion. Future studies should focus on the respective impact of radiation, cerebellar damage, genomic and molecular subgroup parameters, and environmental factors on cognitive and psychosocial outcomes. Long-term (probably lifelong) follow-up into adulthood is required in order to monitor development and implement timely, suitable, multi-disciplinary rehabilitation interventions and special education or support when necessary