COGNITION IN RELATION TO MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING IN HEAD-INJURED CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

To investigate the relationship between cognitive sequelae and magneti c resonance imaging (MRI) findings following closed head injury of var ying severity in the pediatric age range, 76 head-injured children and adolescents were studied at least 3 months after trauma and compared with 57 normal controls. Problem solving, planning, verbal and design fluency, memory, and response modulation were assessed. Significant ef fects of injury were obtained on all of the cognitive measures. Cognit ive impairment was more consistently present on the various outcome me asures in children who were 6 to 10 years old at the time of the study than in the older children and adolescents. Magnetic resonance imagin g disclosed areas of abnormal signal in the frontal lobes of 42 patien ts, whereas focal lesions restricted to the extrafrontal region were f ound in 15 children. Regression analyses disclosed that taking into ac count the size of frontal lobe lesion enhanced the relationship betwee n cognitive performance and the severity of injury.