ABSTRACT
We studied eight children with acquired aphasia. All had left hemisphere lesions. In most, the correlation between the CT lesion site and the resulting aphasic syndrome duplicated an anatomic-clinical correlation described in adults. Rapid recovery of language fluency distinguished the children from reported adults. Late follow-up indicated poor scholastic achievements, reflecting an acquired handicap in new learning. Anatomic-clinical correlates and recovery patterns suggest that brain organization for language is similar but not identical in children and adults.
Subject(s)
Aphasia/pathology , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Adolescent , Aphasia/etiology , Aphasia, Broca/etiology , Aphasia, Broca/pathology , Cerebral Hemorrhage/complications , Cerebral Hemorrhage/diagnostic imaging , Cerebral Infarction/complications , Cerebral Infarction/diagnostic imaging , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Hematoma, Epidural, Cranial/complications , Hematoma, Epidural, Cranial/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Intelligence Tests , Language Tests , Learning Disabilities/etiology , Male , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Hospital records of 53 children and adolescents, aged 18 years or less, with closed head injury were reviewed for information on long-term outcome. Computed tomographic scans were used to divide the patients into clinicopathologic groups. Within these groups, duration of coma was the major index of severity. Outcome was assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale and by evaluating social behavior, school performance, and vocational functioning. Patients with diffuse injury plus focal lesions fared worse than those with diffuse injury only. Coma lasting more than one month led to a poorer outcome in both groups. Many individuals had limiting emotional disturbances, which may have resulted from disruption of frontal systems modulating arousal and social behavior.
