Comparing in-home telehealth and in-person administration of neuropsychological measures in an outpatient pediatric sample during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: Research establishing the validity of neuropsychological assessment using telehealth (teleNP) is much needed in pediatric populations. Method: Current analyses compared performances on twelve common neuropsychological measures completed at home via teleNP or in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic in 476 youth (ages 6 to 17, Mage 11.4 ± 3.0). Results: No differences were found on nine measures. In-person performances on three verbal tests were ∼1 scaled score point lower (all padjusted <.05). Post-hoc analyses showed that the in-person pandemic performances were comparable to an in-person pre-pandemic cohort (unmasked). Conclusions: Overall, teleNP was comparable to in-person assessment. Results indicate that teleNP administration does not result in substantially different performance in pediatric patients undergoing clinical evaluations.

Cognitive Control Deficits in Depression: A Novel Target to Improve Suboptimal Outcomes in Childhood.

Cognitive control deficits are one of three primary endophenotypes in depression, and the enhanced targeting of these deficits in clinical and research work is expected to lead to improved depression outcomes. Cognitive control is a set of self-regulatory processes responsible for goal-oriented behavior that predicts clinical/functional outcomes across the spectrum of brain-based disorders. In depression, cognitive control deficits emerge by the first depressive episode, persist during symptom remission, and worsen over the course of depression. In addition, the presence of these deficits predicts a poor response to evidence-based depression treatments, including psychotherapy and antidepressant medication. This is particularly relevant to childhood depression, as 1%-2% of children are diagnosed with depression, yet there are very limited evidence-based treatment options. Cognitive control deficits may be a previously underaddressed factor contributing to poor outcomes, although there remains a dearth of research examining the topic. The investigators describe the prior literature on cognitive control in depression to argue for the need for increased focus on this endophenotype. They then describe cognitive control-focused clinical and research avenues that would likely lead to improved treatments and outcomes for this historically undertreated aspect of childhood depression.