Psychometric properties of the Wechsler-4 Scale for Deaf People with Moderate Intellectual Disability

This study aimed to identify the Wechsler-4 Intelligence Scale for Deaf people with Moderate Intellectual Disability. A descriptive survey method was used. The sample on deaf included (73) deaf students in Jordan and the WISC-IV standard was applied in the sign language on them. Validity indicators were content validity (80%), Construct Validity Internal (0.351 - 0.435) for each of the tests (Perceptual Reasoning Index, PRI), (Working Memory Index, WMI). And (Processing Speed Index, PSI), except for the Verbal (Comprehension Index, VCI) test, the value of the correlation coefficient with overall intelligence was (0.074), which are non-significant values at the significance level (0.01), and Concurrent Validity with the Goodenough-Harris Drawing scale (0.688) and achievement (0.887). Also, the Reliability scale was the Test Re-test method (0.866), the arbitrator's agreement (78.2%), the Split Half (0.901), and Cronbach Alpha (0.797). The results showed that the overall intelligence level (IQ=50.23).The results showed that there are differences in the level of the sub-tests and the value of the arithmetic mean (VCI) = (58.37), (PRI) = (52.73), (WMI) = (52.68), (PSI) = (64.14), and Full-Scale IQ = (50.23). The results showed that there were differences in the level of (PRI) attributable to gender in favor of males. And no differences in the level of intelligence attributed to the variable of hearing impairment. The study recommends related to the understanding of sign language of deaf Moderate Intellectual Disability, and studies related to the development of the perceptual intelligence of the deaf.

Motor skills predict adaptive behavior in autistic children and adolescents

There is a well-documented difference between IQ and adaptive behavior scores in autism, with autistic children having lower adaptive behavior scores than would be predicted based on their IQ scores. Differences in motor skills may explain the variability in their adaptive behavior scores. The current study examined how motor skills might explain autistic individuals’ low adaptive behavior scores and which individual components of IQ (i.e., verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning) and motor skills (i.e., manual dexterity, aiming and catching, and balance) may drive this effect. We examined the relationships between IQ, motor skills, calibrated severity, and adaptive behavior scores in 45 autistic children and adolescents. We found a significant difference in the full-scale IQ and the adaptive behavior scores indicating that our participants’ adaptive behavior scores were lower than would be expected given their full-scale IQ. We investigated whether motor skills predicted adaptive behavior in autistic children and adolescents and found that motor skills scores were related to adaptive behavior scores. To further investigate these relationships, we examined how individual components of IQ and motor skills predicted adaptive behavior scores in autistic children and adolescents. Our results indicated that manual dexterity scores were related to adaptive behavior scores. These findings clearly illustrate the need for further understanding of autistic individuals’ difficulties with adaptive behavior and the potential role of motor skill difficulties that may underlie these difficulties.

Long-term cognitive outcomes in term newborns with watershed injury caused by neonatal encephalopathy

Background We previously reported that increasing severity of watershed (WS) injury in neonatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is associated with worse language outcomes in early childhood. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between neonatal injury patterns and cognitive profile in adolescents with neonatal encephalopathy. Methods Term neonates with encephalopathy were prospectively enrolled and imaged using brain MRI from 1999 to 2008. Neonatal brain injury was scored according to the degree of injury in WS and basal ganglia/thalamus (BG/T) areas. The children underwent a neurocognitive assessment and follow-up brain MRI at the age of 10–16 years. The relationship between neonatal brain injury patterns and adolescent cognitive outcomes was assessed. Results In a cohort of 16 children, neonatal MRI showed WS injury in 7, BG/T injury in 2, and normal imaging in 7. Children with WS injury had lower estimated overall cognitive ability than those with normal imaging. Increasing WS injury score was associated with decreasing estimated overall cognitive ability, Perceptual Reasoning Index, and digit span score. Conclusions Children with the WS injury are at an increased risk of having problems in long-term intellectual ability. These cognitive outcomes may underlie early language difficulties seen in children with neonatal WS injury. Impact Adolescents with a history of neonatal encephalopathy and watershed pattern of injury on neonatal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) had lower overall cognitive ability, perceptual reasoning skills, and auditory working memory than those with normal neonatal imaging. Children with post-neonatal epilepsy and cerebral palsy had the worst cognitive outcomes. Watershed pattern of injury confers high long-term differences in intellectual ability.

The Neurobehavioral Phenotype of School-Aged, Very Prematurely Born Children with No Serious Neurological Sequelae: A Quality of Life Predictor

School-aged extremely preterm (EPT) children have multiple specific neurocognitive/behavioral disorders that are often associated with other disorders; this manifests a true neurobehavioral “phenotype” of prematurity. To determine a profile of cognitive/behavioral impairments in a population of school-aged EPT children (7–10 years-old) without major disabilities, a cross-sectional study was conducted in five medical centers. An algorithm distributed the study population according to four WISC-IV subtests, five NEPSY-2 subtests, and two variables of figure of Rey. The behavior (SDQ), anxiety (Spielberg STAI-C), and generic QoL (Kidscreen 10 and VSP-A) were also evaluated. The study included 231 school-aged EPT children. Three neurobehavioral “phenotypes” were defined according to their severity: 1 = moderately, 2 = minor, and 3 = unimpaired. In all the profiles, the working memory, perceptual reasoning, as well as mental flexibility, were close to or below average, and their emotional behavior was always troubled. Self-esteem and school-work were the most impacted QoL areas. The unimpaired neurobehavior exhibited emotional behavioral impairment and executive dysfunction. The profile analysis defined distinct outcome groups and provided an informative means of identifying factors related to developmental outcomes. The QoL deterioration is determined by the severity of the three neurobehavioral “phenotypes”, which is defined as well as by dysexecutive and/or behavioral disorders.

Impact of Antiepileptic Drugs on Cognition and Neuromagnetic Activity in Childhood Epilepsy With Centrotemporal Spikes: A Magnetoencephalography Study

Objective: Childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (CECTS), the most common childhood epilepsy, still lacks longitudinal imaging studies involving antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). In order to examine the effect of AEDs on cognition and brain activity. We investigated the neuromagnetic activities and cognitive profile in children with CECTS before and after 1 year of treatment.Methods: Fifteen children with CECTS aged 6–12 years underwent high-sampling magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings before treatment and at 1 year after treatment, and 12 completed the cognitive assessment (The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children). Next, magnetic source location and functional connectivity (FC) were investigated in order to characterize interictal neuromagnetic activity in the seven frequency sub-bands, including: delta (1–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha (8–12 Hz), beta (12–30 Hz), gamma (30–80 Hz), ripple (80–250 Hz), and fast ripple (250–500 Hz).Results: After 1 year of treatment, children with CECTS had increased scores on full-scale intelligence quotient, verbal comprehension index (VCI) and perceptual reasoning index (PRI). Alterations of neural activity occurred in specific frequency bands. Source location, in the 30–80 Hz frequency band, was significantly increased in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) after treatment. Moreover, FC analysis demonstrated that after treatment, the connectivity between the PCC and the medial frontal cortex (MFC) was enhanced in the 8–12 Hz frequency band. Additionally, the whole-brain network distribution was more dispersed in the 80–250 Hz frequency band.Conclusion: Intrinsic neural activity has frequency-dependent characteristic. AEDs have impact on regional activity and FC of the default mode network (DMN). Normalization of aberrant DMN in children with CECTS after treatment is likely the reason for improvement of cognitive function.

Cognitive Impairment in Adult Patients with 5q-Associated Spinal Muscular Atrophy

In previous studies, a below-average, average, or above-average intelligence quotient (IQ) in children with SMA was detected but, aside from a severe physical disability, the cognitive performance of adult SMA patients has not yet been evaluated. The intelligence test used in this study, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, fourth edition (WAIS-IV), was used to measure major intelligence components of adult SMA patients. The WAIS-IV determines four index scores representing verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. Due to time-dependent demands on motor function, the processing speed index score was excluded. IQ index scores of 33 adult SMA patients did not differ from IQ index scores of the normal population. In SMA type-3 patients, the index scores for verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, and working memory did not differ from the normal population but showed a trend of IQ scores towards lower points. Patients with SMA type 2 had lower IQ index scores for working memory (90.33 ± 12.95; p = 0.012) and perceptual reasoning (90.73 ± 12.58; p = 0.013) than the normal population. This study provided further evidence that SMA is a multi-systemic disease and may refute the widespread hypothesis that SMA patients might improve their cognitive skills to compensate for their physical impairment.

A-35 Relationship between Suicidality and Discrepancies in Verbal and Nonverbal Intelligence in Adolescents

Objective Many have examined the relationship between intellectual functioning (IQ) and suicidality in children and adolescents. However, no study to date has investigated how discrepancies between verbal and nonverbal IQ may influence suicide risk in adolescents. This study used a sample of patients hospitalized on an adolescent psychiatric unit to compare number of lifetime suicide attempts (SA) among those with a ≥ 22-point difference between verbal and nonverbal abilities. Method Data were retroactively collected from a convenience sample. Patients were grouped based on discrepancies between Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) and Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) scores (VCI > PRI & VCI). Results The number of lifetime ACEs or size of IQ discrepancy did not significantly differ between groups; however, those in the VCI < PRI (μ = 1.13 ± 0.98) group had a significant higher number of SAs than those in the VCI > PRI group (μ = 0.50 ± 0.86) (t(32) = 2.01, p = 0.05). Hedges’ g revealed large effect for IQ discrepancy type and number of SAs. Linear regression modeling revealed a positive association between number of ACEs and number of SAs (ß = 0.10, t(33) = 2.71, p = 0.01). Size of IQ discrepancy was not significantly contributory to total SAs. Conclusion VCI being considerably lower than PRI may increase risk of SA in adolescents. This risk may be further exacerbated by lifetime number of ACEs.

A-47 The Interplay between Achievement Scores in Math Ability, Visual Working Memory, and Perceptual Reasoning across Race in an Adult Population

Objective The aim of this study is to measure the associations between overall math ability, visual working memory, and perceptual reasoning. Method Data stemmed from an ongoing de-identified database aof clinical adults. Participants were administered the WAIS-IV, KM-3, and WMS-IV. The sample consisted of Caucasians (N = 671, M_edu = 14,45.7% males & 52.5% females), African Americans (N = 154, M_edu = 13, 43.5% males & 56.5% females), and Hispanic (N = 194, M_edu = 13,44.8% males & 53.6% females). Participant’s age ranged from 16 to 81, with a mean of 31.06. Results The analysis corrected for age, education, and gender. The relationship between PR and KM-3 was 0.505 for Caucasians, 0.782 for African Americans, and 0.769 for Hispanics, all p < 0.05. A Fisher Z transformation indicated significance on PR and KM-3 between Caucasians and Hispanics, p < 0.001. The relationship between KM-3 and VWM was 0.408 for Caucasians, 0.828 for African Americans, and 0.591 for Hispanics, all p < 0.05. A Fisher Z transformation indicated significance on KM-3 and VWM between Caucasians and African Americans, p = 0.020. The relationship between KM-3 and VP was 0.349 for Caucasians, 0.584 for African Americans, and.733 for Hispanics, all p < 0.05. A Fisher Z transformation indicated significance on KM-3 and VP between Caucasians and Hispanics, p = 0.04. Discussion Closer analysis of performance between race reveals statistically stronger associations between mathematical ability and perceptual/memory tasks that are visuoconstructional in nature for African Americans and Hispanics when compared to Caucasians. The findings of this study may allude to different approach’s African Americans and Hispanics may use (e.g., mental rotation) when solving mathematical computations.

SNAP-25 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, Brain Morphology and Intelligence in Children With Borderline Intellectual Functioning: A Mediation Analysis

Borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) is a multifactorial condition in which both genetic and environmental factors are likely to contribute to the clinical outcome. Abnormal cortical development and lower IQ scores were shown to be correlated in BIF children, but the genetic components of this condition and their possible connection with intelligence and brain morphology have never been investigated in BIF. The synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kD (SNAP-25) is involved in synaptic plasticity, neural maturation, and neurotransmission, affecting intellectual functioning. We investigated SNAP-25 polymorphisms in BIF and correlated such polymorphisms with intelligence and cortical thickness, using socioeconomic status and environmental stress as covariates as a good proxy of the variables that determine intellectual abilities. Thirty-three children with a diagnosis of BIF were enrolled in the study. SNAP-25 polymorphisms rs363050, rs363039, rs363043, rs3746544, and rs1051312 were analyzed by genotyping; cortical thickness was studied by MRI; intelligence was measured using the WISC-III/IV subscales; environmental stressors playing a role in neuropsychiatric development were considered as covariate factors. Results showed that BIF children carrying the rs363043(T) minor allele represented by (CT + TT) genotypes were characterized by lower performance Perceptual Reasoning Index and lower full-scale IQ scores (p = 0.04) compared to those carrying the (CC) genotype. This association was correlated with a reduced thickness of the left inferior parietal cortex (direct effect = 0.44) and of the left supramarginal gyrus (direct effect = 0.56). These results suggest a link between SNAP-25 polymorphism and intelligence with the mediation role of brain morphological features in children with BIF.

Socially stratified epigenetic profiles are associated with cognitive functioning in children and adolescents

Children's cognitive functioning and educational performance are socially stratified. Social inequality, including classism and racism, may operate partly via epigenetic mechanisms that modulate neurocognitive development. Following preregistered analyses of data from 1,183 8- to 19-year-olds from the Texas Twin Project, we examined whether salivary DNA-methylation measures of inflammation (DNAm-CRP), cognitive functioning (Epigenetic-g), and pace of biological aging (DunedinPoAm) are socially stratified and associated with performance on tests of cognitive functions. We find that children growing up in more disadvantaged families and neighborhoods and children from marginalized racial/ethnic groups exhibit DNA-methylation profiles associated with higher chronic inflammation, lower cognitive functioning, and faster pace of biological aging. These salivary DNA-methylation profiles were associated with processing speed, general executive function, perceptual reasoning, verbal comprehension, reading, and math. Given that the DNA-methylation measures we examined were originally developed in adults, our results suggest that social inequalities may produce in children molecular signatures that, when observed in adults, are associated with chronic inflammation, advanced aging, and reduced cognitive function. Salivary DNA-methylation profiles might be useful as a surrogate endpoint in assessing the effectiveness of psychological and economic interventions that aim to reduce negative effects of childhood social inequality on lifespan development.