| |
Abstract:
Abstract: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that
hemispheric specialisation is not present during early childhood
but gradually emerges over time. Forty-five children with MRI
confirmed unilateral middle cerebral artery infarct and fourteen
sibling controls underwent neuropsychological investigations. The
mean age at stroke was six years. Although mean verbal and
performance IQs were within the normal range, the latter was
significantly lower compared with the mean of the sibling controls.
There was no effect of hemispheric side of injury on IQ when
patients were grouped according to age at stroke (<5 years
vs. >6 years), although there was a trend for verbal IQ to
be selectively spared after a right hemisphere stroke in older
children. Performance IQ was lower in children with more extensive
infarcts involving both cortical and subcortical structures,
compared with children with damage restricted to the basal ganglia,
irrespective of hemispheric side of injury. Cortical involvement
did not significantly reduce verbal IQ or language performance.
Overall, expressive and receptive language scores were
significantly below the population mean. Once again, there was no
effect of hemispheric side of stroke on language ability, although
older children obtained significantly lower scores on both
measures. Our results suggest that hemispheric specialisation
begins to appear after the age of five or six.
|
