NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL AND NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL INDEXES OF AUDITORY PROCESSING IMPAIRMENT IN CHILDREN WITH MULTIPLE COMPLEX DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER

Objective: To evaluate whether children with borderline disorder (also referred to as multiple complex developmental disorder) (BD/MCDD) and comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) demonstrate evidence of abnormal attention and/or auditory processing impairments as indexed by both behavioral and physiological measures. Method: Thre e groups of children were compared in two different experiments on beh avioral rating scales (Conners Parent Rating Scale and Child Behavior Checklist), behavioral accuracy to auditory and visual target detectio n tasks, selected neuropsychological tests, and brain physiology (even t-related potentials) collected during auditory and visual target dete ction tasks. Results: The results demonstrate that children with BD/MC DD differ from children with ADHD in the (1) prevalence of internalizi ng and externalizing behaviors, (2) neuropsychological deficits relate d to auditory processing, and (3) event-related potential brain physio logy associated with auditory cognitive target attention tasks. Conclu sion: Some of the pervasive pathology described in children with BD/MC DD may be due to biological vulnerabilities, particularly problems wit h auditory processing. Auditory processing impairments in such childre n deserves special attention with respect to both understanding their behavioral symptoms and developing a comprehensive treatment plan.