Body Processing in Children and Adolescents with Traumatic Brain Injury: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Dysfunctions in body processing have been documented in adults with brain damage, while limited information is available for children. This study aimed to investigate body processing in children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI) (N = 33), compared to peers with typical development. Two well-known computerized body-representation paradigms, namely Visual Body Recognition and Visuo-spatial Imagery, were administered. Through the first paradigm, the body inversion and composite illusion effects were tested with a matching to sample task as measures of configural and holistic processing of others’ bodies, respectively. The second paradigm investigated with a laterality judgement task the ability to perform first-person and object-based mental spatial transformations of own body and external objects, respectively. Body stimuli did not convey any emotional contents or symbolic meanings. Patients with TBI had difficulties with mental transformations of both body and object stimuli, displaying deficits in motor and visual imagery abilities, not limited to body processing. Therefore, cognitive rehabilitation of body processing in TBI might benefit from the inclusion of both general training on visuo-spatial abilities and specific exercises aimed at boosting visual body perception and motor imagery.

Randomized clinical trial on the effects of a computerized cognitive training for pediatric patients with acquired brain injury or congenital malformation

“…Pediatric brain alterations, both acquired injuries and congenital malformations, are known to cause lifelong disabilities in children, due to cognitive, behavioral and affective difficulties persisting over time 1 – 14 . From a cognitive point of view, grey and white matter anomalies of the brain may cause impairments in global intelligence as well as in core cognitive domains, such as attention, memory, executive functions, processing speed and visual–spatial abilities 5 , 15 – 17 . Also, cerebellar alterations, either in acquired or congenital diseases, may affect cognition and emotions, not limiting their effects on the motor domain 18 – 24 .…”