Biomedical subjects

C Mañeru

Publications and source records attributed to C Mañeru.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Cerebral correlates of declarative memory dysfunctions in early traumatic brain injury.

We investigated residual brain damage in subjects who suffered severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in childhood, and its relationship with declarative memory impairment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) volumetric data and memory performance were compared between 16 adolescents with antecedents of severe TBI and 16 matched normal controls. Volumes of grey matter, white matter, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), hippocampus, and caudate nuclei were measured. Verbal memory was assessed by the Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning test and visual memory by the Rey's Complex Figure. TBI patients performed significantly worse than controls in both verbal and visual memory. Patients presented decreased white matter volume and increased CSF. The hippocampus was reduced, but not the caudate nuclei. Memory performance correlated with CSF. Plasticity is incomplete for structural and functional deficits in children with TBI. Hippocampal atrophy, white matter loss, and memory impairment remain until adolescence. Memory sequelae are related more to diffuse brain injury, as reflected by MRI findings of increased CSF, than to hippocampal injury.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

(1)H-MR spectroscopy is sensitive to subtle effects of perinatal asphyxia.

The authors performed neuropsychological and (1)H-MRS studies in 18 subclinical patients with antecedents of perinatal asphyxia (PA) and in 18 matched control subjects. Patients with PA showed reduced values of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) in both the basal ganglia and the midtemporal region (MTR) and reduced NAA/choline values in the MTR. Neuropsychological testing showed group differences in tasks related to attention and memory. These results indicate persistent dysfunctions in cerebral structures vulnerable to hypoxia and demonstrate the utility of MRS for the long-term evaluation of cerebral sequelae of neonatal asphyxia.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Neuropsychological long-term sequelae of perinatal asphyxia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the long-term neuropsychological consequences of perinatal asphyxia (PA). METHODS: A group of adolescents were assessed with antecedents of mild (n = 8) and moderate (n = 20) PA, and a matched group of 28 healthy adolescents as a control group. Neuropsychological assessment included tests of memory, perceptual-motor skills, and frontal lobe functions, because these are areas of cognitive functioning susceptible to hypoxic conditions. RESULTS: Subjects with moderate PA showed significant differences from the control group on tests related to delayed recall for both verbal and visual information, perceptual-motor speed, and tests assessing attention and executive functions. Conversely, subjects in the mild PA group exhibited scores which were similar to those of the control group in all the assessed variables. CONCLUSION: The present findings demonstrate that subtle but persistent neuropsychological deficits were observed in adolescents with antecedents of moderate PA, but not in those classified with mild asphyxia.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Cerebral asymmetry observed on magnetic resonance].

INTRODUCTION: Anatomical and functional neuroimaging data from subjects with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have consistently implicated a reversal of cerebral asymmetry and suggested a fronto-striatal dysfunction in this disorder. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the brain asymmetries in a homogeneous and non-medicated sample of adolescents with ADHD who had been previously studied in our laboratory. PATIENTS AND METHODS: T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were obtained for 11 adolescents with ADHD and 19 control subjects. Frontal and posterior brain regions, caudate nucleus, and ventricular system were quantitatively measured. RESULTS: A reversed pattern of asymmetry for the caudate nucleus (right > left) was found in ADHD when compared to the control group. We also found a reversed pattern of asymmetry for the frontal lobe (right < left) and a smaller right frontal volume (prefrontal specifically) in the ADHD subjects most severely impaired. Right caudate and frontal measures were inversely correlated. CONCLUSIONS: ADHD is associated with fronto-striatal abnormalities, which may be explicable via extant neurodevelopmental theories. Enlargement of the right caudate nucleus may suggest the failure of a process of synaptic 'pruning' by which attentional functions could be improperly transferred from the basal ganglia to frontal regions during development.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Cognitive deficit in perinatal asphyxia].

INTRODUCTION: During the period 1950 1970 the relation between perinatal asphyxia and cognitive alterations was studied. More recently the neuropsychological approach has been introduced to detect more subtle defects. DEVELOPMENT: With regard to intelligence, alterations in the intelligence quotient resulting from anoxia are more commonly seen in young children than in adolescents, probably because of compensation mechanisms. It is widely accepted that severe asphyxia causes motor and cognitive alterations and leads to cerebral palsy, epilepsy and intellectual retardation. The effects of mild or moderate asphyxia are still controversial. CONCLUSION: Thorough neuropsychological examination, particularly assessment of memory and frontal function, helps to identify subtle deficits which may explain some learning problems observed in children who have a history of moderate asphyxia but previously no clear neurological diagnosis.

Animals↗