Factors associated with lateralized cognitive dysfunction using the Cognitive Lateralization Rating Index in pediatric epilepsy.

Introduction: Optimizing cognitive outcomes of pediatric epilepsy surgery requires understanding of risk for change in function, typically based on hemispheric lateralization of language skills. Identification of cognitive lateralization in children is complicated by disease in the setting of ongoing functional development. A quantitative method for assessing lateralization, the Cognitive Lateralization Rating Index (CLRI), was used as a systematic way to assess lateralized cognitive dysfunction in a sample of pediatric epilepsy surgery candidates.

Postneonatal epilepsy after acute provoked neonatal seizures: Incidence, predictors, and clinical burden in a multicenter cohort followed through early childhood.

Objective: Epilepsy is a known potential outcome following acute provoked neonatal seizures, but its onset, treatment patterns, and health care utilization through childhood remain poorly characterized. This study aimed to define the incidence and timing of postneonatal epilepsy, identify perinatal predictors, and describe the clinical burden of epilepsy among survivors of acute provoked neonatal seizures through early childhood.

Methods: This prospective, multicenter cohort study followed neonates with acute provoked seizures from the Neonatal Seizure Registry (NSR-II) in an extended follow-up through early childhood (Developmental Functional Evaluation).

Parent and Family Well-Being and Associated Risk Factors as Children with Neonatal Seizures Reach Preschool and School-Age: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Objective: To assess parent/family well-being when children with neonatal seizures reach 3-8 years of age and examine factors associated with parent/family well-being.

Methods: One parent per surviving infant in the Neonatal Seizure Registry-II was invited to complete validated surveys annually when children were between 3 and 8 years of age. Three outcomes were examined: (1) parent well-being (anxiety, depression, and quality of life); (2) parent post-traumatic stress symptoms; and (3) impact on the family.

Predictors of atypical language lateralization in focal epilepsy: A mega-analysis of fMRI evidence.

Objective: To identify predictors of language lateralization derived from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in children and adults with left- and right-sided focal epilepsy.

Methods: We conducted a mega-analysis of data from 914 individuals from 24 samples. We used multilevel models to identify predictors of language lateralization in left and right hemisphere epilepsy groups.

Association of the cognitive lateralization rating Index with surgical variables of a national cohort of pediatric patients with epilepsy.

Objective: Surgery is a standard treatment for medically refractory epilepsy, and many factors contribute to determining surgical approaches. The Cognitive Lateralization Rating Index (CLRI) quantifies the degree of dysfunction evident and can suggest atypical neuroanatomical functional organization if dominant skills remain despite left-hemisphere seizure foci (i.e.

Investigating Quality of Life and Adaptive Functioning in Patients With -Related Epilepsy.

-related epilepsy is associated with a spectrum of seizure and neurodevelopmental phenotypes; however, there is limited information regarding nonseizure outcomes. We performed a cross-sectional study investigating quality of life (QoL) and adaptive functioning in this population utilizing the Quality of Life Inventory-Disability (QI-Disability) survey and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS). Nineteen patients with pathogenic variants were included.

Is an earlier onset of focal epilepsy associated with atypical language lateralization? A systematic review, meta-analysis and new data.

Right and bilateral language representation is common in focal epilepsy, possibly reflecting the influence of epileptogenic lesions and/or seizure activity in the left hemisphere. Atypical language lateralization is assumed to be more likely in cases of early seizure onset, due to greater language plasticity in childhood. However, evidence for this association is mixed, with most research based on small samples and heterogenous cohorts.

School-age child neurodevelopment following antenatal Zika virus exposure.

Background: Children exposed antenatally to Zika virus (ZIKV) during the 2015-2016 epidemic are now in school; little is known about their neurodevelopment at this age. The objective was to evaluate neurodevelopment of ZIKV-exposed Colombian children compared to non-exposed controls at ages 5-6.

Methods: In total, 48 normocephalic children with antenatal ZIKV exposure (Cases) were recruited for a longitudinal cohort study in Atlántico, Colombia.

FMRI activation during paragraph reading in pediatric epilepsy.

Objective: This study examined brain activation differences during paragraph reading between children with and without epilepsy and if findings were related to neuropsychological performance. Exploratory analyses assessed activation in a subset of struggling readers.

Methods: The study included 41 children with focal epilepsy (M = 10.

Life After Neonatal Seizures: Characterizing the Longitudinal Parent Experience.

Background: Parents of neonates with seizures report persistent symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. We aimed to characterize the parent experience of caring for children impacted by neonatal seizures, including longitudinal assessment across childhood.

Methods: This prospective, observational, multicenter study was conducted at Neonatal Seizure Registry (NSR) sites in partnership with the NSR Parent Advisory Panel.

Feasibility and success of a non-sedated brain MRI training protocol in 7-year-old children from rural and semi-rural Colombia.

Background: Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a crucial tool for clinical evaluation of the brain and neuroscience research. Obtaining successful non-sedated MRI in children who live in resource-limited settings may be an additional challenge.

Objective: To present a feasibility study of a novel, low-cost MRI training protocol used in a clinical research study in a rural/semi-rural region of Colombia and to examine neurodevelopmental factors associated with successful scans.

The changing landscape of electrical stimulation language mapping with subdural electrodes and stereoelectroencephalography for pediatric epilepsy: A literature review and commentary.

Electrical stimulation mapping (ESM) is used to locate the brain areas supporting language directly within the human cortex to minimize the risk of functional decline following epilepsy surgery. ESM is completed by utilizing subdural grid or depth electrodes (stereo-electroencephalography [sEEG]) in combination with behavioral evaluation of language. Despite technological advances, there is no standardized method of assessing language during pediatric ESM.

Understanding the multidimensional neurodevelopmental outcomes in children after congenital Zika virus exposure.

Since 2016, international research groups have focused on assessing outcomes of children with in utero Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure. While the more severe outcomes of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) occur in up to 10% of children with antenatal exposure, early findings among ZIKV-exposed children without CZS ages 0-5 years suggest that they may also have differences in multiple domains of neurodevelopment. Thus, longitudinal follow-up of all children with antenatal ZIKV exposure has been recommended.

Clinical Validation of Selected NIH Cognitive Toolbox Tasks in Pediatric Epilepsy.

The NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) is designed to assess cognitive functioning across the lifespan. We aimed to evaluate the clinical validity of two NIHTB-CB tasks as cognitive screening tools in pediatric epilepsy by comparing them to standard neuropsychological measures and their association with epilepsy characteristics. Forty-seven patients with epilepsy ages 5-18, including ten repeat evaluations, were assessed.

Positive and negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on families of young children in rural Colombia and implications for child outcome research.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of children and families worldwide. The objective of this study is to examine exposures and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on preschool-aged children and caregivers in the Atlántico region of Colombia.

Methods: The COVID-19 Exposure and Family Impact Scales (CEFIS) questionnaire was administered in Fall 2021 to 63 caregivers of children in Sabanalarga, Colombia enrolled in a neurodevelopment study as healthy controls.

Characterization and Prediction of Short-term Outcomes in Memory After Temporal Lobe Resection in Children With Epilepsy.

Background And Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize short-term outcomes in episodic memory, as assessed by the Children's Memory Scale (CMS), after temporal lobe resection in children with epilepsy using empirical methods for assessing cognitive change (i.e., reliable change indices [RCI] and standardized regression-based change scores [SRB]) and develop and internally validate clinically applicable models to predict postoperative memory decline.

Leveraging expertise and optimizing clinical research: Initial success of a pediatric epilepsy surgery collaborative.

Objective: Improve data-driven research to inform clinical decision-making with pediatric epilepsy surgery patients by expanding the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium Epilepsy Surgery (PERC-Surgery) Workgroup to include neuropsychological data. This article reports on the process and initial success of this effort and characterizes the cognitive functioning of the largest multi-site pediatric epilepsy surgery cohort in the United States.

Methods: Pediatric neuropsychologists from 18 institutions completed surveys regarding neuropsychological practice and the impact of involvement in the collaborative.