Biomedical subjects

K A Espy

Publications and source records attributed to K A Espy.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

New procedures to assess executive functions in preschool children.

Executive functions are difficult to assess in preschool children, yet the preschool period is particularly important, both in the development of behavioral control and of the brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex. Several tasks were adapted from developmental and neuroscience literature and then administered to 98 preschool children (30-, 36-, 42-, 48- and 60-month age groups). Executive function task performance was related largely to age group, but not to sex or intelligence. These tasks, then, were sensitive in this age range and may be useful to delineate distinct cognitive profiles among preschool children with various neurological and developmental disorders.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed2000

Cognitive consequences and central nervous system injury following treatment for childhood leukemia.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between membrane damage and intellectual and academic abilities in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and pilot test a math intervention for children with ALL who were affected. DATA SOURCES: Research studies and review articles. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the prophylactic central nervous system (CNS) treatment for long-term disease-free survival, many children with ALL subsequently experience declines in intellectual and academic skills. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Improving academic abilities in children who have received CNS treatment is of high priority and may have longlasting implications on quality of life.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1999

Executive functioning in preschool children: performance on A-not-B and other delayed response format tasks.

The A-not-B (AB) task has been hypothesized to measure executive/frontal lobe function; however, the developmental and measurement characteristics of this task have not been investigated. Performances on AB and comparison tasks adapted from developmental and neuroscience literature was examined in 117 preschool children (ages 23-66 months). Age significantly predicted performance on AB, Delayed Alternation, Spatial Reversal, Color Reversal, and Self-Control tasks. A four-factor analytic model best fit task performance data. AB task indices loaded on two factors with measures from the Self-Control and Delayed Alternation tasks, respectively. AB indices did not load with those from the reversal tasks despite similarities in task administration and presumed cognitive demand (working memory). These results indicate that AB is sensitive to individual differences in age-related performance in preschool children and suggest that AB performance is related to both working memory and inhibition processes in this age range.

Child↗

PubMed1999

Construct validity of the Continuous Recognition Memory test.

A principal factor analysis was performed on variables derived from a neuropsychological battery administered to 100 healthy young adults in order to investigate the construct validity of the Continuous Recognition Memory test (CRM). It was hypothesized that CRM "hits" and "false alarms" would load on different factors. The factors that emerged in the analysis were labeled "Verbal Ability", "Divided Attention", "Attention to Visual Detail", "Visuomotor Integration and Planning", and "Learning and Memory". As expected, CRM hits had a significant loading on the Learning and Memory factor. However, CRM false alarms did not have a significant loading on the Divided Attention factor as expected and, instead, loaded significantly on the Attention to Visual Detail factor. A second analysis was performed using variables from the delayed condition of the memory measures. In this analysis, the CRM delayed recognition variable had significant loadings on both a "Nonverbal Memory" factor and a "Verbal Memory" factor. These analyses support the construct validity of CRM hits as a measure of learning and memory and suggest that false alarms provide a measure of attention to visual detail.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Chemotherapeutic CNS prophylaxis and neuropsychologic change in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prophylactic CNS chemotherapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia is associated with declines in neuropsychological abilities. METHODS: Growth curve analysis was used to examine neuropsychological outcome and treatment-related change in children (N = 30) who were treated at two childhood cancer centers. A comprehensive test battery was administered at baseline (8 months), 2, 3, and 4 years postdiagnosis (age at diagnosis M = 5.90 years, SD = 4.2C). RESULTS: Results indicated modest declines in arithmetic, visual motor integration, and verbal fluency. Intrathecal and systemic treatment was related to poorer visual motor integration at 4 years postdiagnosis and a faster rate of decline in visual motor integration skills across the observation period than intrathecal treatment alone. Arithmetic proficiency at 4 years after diagnosis was related to maternal education, but the rate of decline was not. Verbal fluency was unrelated to demographic or treatment variables. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that neuropsychological outcome and declines are related to both demographic and treatment characteristics depending on the cognitive domain examined.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Comparisons of cutoff and regression-based definitions of reading disabilities.

This study addressed the issue of specificity in reading disability by comparing two approaches to defining and selecting children with reading disabilities. One approach defined reading disability according to cutoff scores representing appropriate levels of intelligence and reading deficiency, whereas the other approach adjusted these scores for their intercorrelation through regression procedures. Results revealed clear differences in which children were identified as reading disabled according to the two definitions. However, differences in neuropsychological performance between children whose reading scores were discrepant or not discrepant with IQ were small and nonspecific for both definitions. The results of this study show that children identified as reading disabled vary according to the definition employed; at this point, there is little evidence suggesting any specificity of reading disability according to definition.

Achievement↗