VISUAL INFORMATION-PROCESSING IN INFANTS WITH FOCAL BRAIN-LESIONS

Visual information processing for faces were tested by means of the Fa gan test of infant intelligence (FTII) in six infants of approximately 12 months of age affected by congenital unilateral brain lesions. Mag netic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to determine the side and size of the lesions. In addition to the FTII, all infants were submitted to a psychometric evaluation using the Griffiths scales. Visual acuity, visual field, and ocular motility were also assessed. Three infants sh owed damage in the left hemisphere and three in the right. The severit y of the lesions, as revealed by MRI scan, was similar in the two grou ps. All infants except one had normal or borderline cognitive scores o n the Griffiths scales. Conversely, four infants showed abnormal resul ts on the FTII, which were not associated with the severity of the les ions, psychometric scores, or the presence of visual deficits. A prefe rence for stimuli presented on the left side of the screen was found, independent of the side of the lesions. This effect was stronger for n ovel stimuli. The results of this study confirm the importance of earl y assessment of neuropsychological functions in infants with focal bra in lesions.