Declarative and procedural learning in children and adolescents with posterior fossa tumours

Abstract

BackgroundThis quasi-experimental study was designed to assess two important learning types – procedural and declarative – in children and adolescents affected by posterior fossa tumours (astrocytoma vs. medulloblastoma), given that memory has an important impact on the child's academic achievement and personal development.MethodsWe had three groups: two clinical (eighteen subjects) and one control (twelve subjects). The learning types in these groups were assessed by two experimental tasks evaluating procedural-implicit and declarative memory. A Serial Reaction-Time Task was used to measure procedural sequence learning, and the Spanish version [1] of the California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version- CVLT- [2] to measure declarative-explicit learning. The learning capacity was assessed considering only the blocks that represent learning, and were compared with MANOVA in clinical and normal subjects. The Raven, simple reaction-time, finger-tapping test, and grooved pegboard tests were used to assess the overall functioning of subjects. The results were compared with those from a control group of the same age, and with Spanish norm-referenced tools where availableResultsThe results indicate the absence of procedural-implicit learning in both clinical groups, whereas declarative-explicit learning is maintained in both groups.ConclusionThe clinical groups showed a conservation of declarative learning and a clear impairment of procedural learning. The results support the role of the cerebellum in the early phase of procedural learning.

Comparison of neuropsychological functioning in pediatric posterior fossa tumor survivors: Medulloblastoma, low‐grade astrocytoma, and healthy controls

“…Specifically, lesions to the cerebellum from surgical resection can affect neurocognitive functioning through the disruption of essential cerebello‐thalamic‐cerebral feedforward and feedback circuitry 22,23 . In prior studies that compared LGA survivors to control groups, the LGA groups performed worse on measures of attention, executive functioning, and memory 11,12,14 . Overall, the current literature supports that survivors of LGA display less severe deficits than MB survivors but still perform worse than controls.…”

“…Furthermore, the number of posterior fossa tumor survivors examined in the prior comparative literature is small, as several manuscripts were published using the same samples 11–14 . Some studies also did not use a pure MB sample, thereby introducing more diversity in terms of tumor characteristics, treatment protocols, and medical complications 13,14 …”

A prospective behavioral and imaging study exploring the impact on long-term memory of radiotherapy delivered for a brain tumor in childhood and adolescence

“…The cerebellum plays a central role in working memory and procedural memory, both of which are involved in motor (6) and cognitive learning, as it allows for the automation and procedural retention required in reading (automation of grapheme-phoneme conversion) and arithmetic (mental calculation) (7). Whereas there is a growing body of literature on the impact of a PFT and its irradiation on working memory (8,9), very few studies have looked at the procedural memory system (10,11). Supratentorial structures involved in declarative memory, such as the mediotemporal lobe and hippocampi, are either partially (lower part, owing to proximity to target volume or tumor bed for boost radiotherapy) or fully (craniospinal irradiation for medulloblastomas) irradiated (Fig.…”

“…The cerebellum plays a central role in working memory and procedural memory, both of which are involved in motor [6] and cognitive learning, as it allows for the automation and procedural retention required in reading (automation of grapheme–phoneme conversion) and arithmetic (mental calculation) [7] . Whereas there is a growing body of literature on the impact of a PFT and its irradiation on working memory [8] , [9] , very few studies have looked at the procedural memory system [10] , [11] .…”

Implicit learning deficit in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Evidence for a cerebellar cognitive impairment?

“…More specifically, it appears that there is a specific impairment in implicit and procedural learning, as observed in adults with cerebellar lesions, affecting the lateral regions of the cerebellum. The role of the cerebellum in the deficits in implicit learning and procedural learning has also been observed in children with acquired neurological disease [ 18 – 20 ] and developmental dyslexia or intellectual disabilities [ 21 – 23 ]. The cerebellum appears to have an important role in detecting and recognising event sequences and in acquiring and automatizing new cognitive procedures [ 24 – 25 ].…”