[Formula: see text] Neuropsychological functioning and its relationship with brain anatomical measures of children and adolescents with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate.

BACKGROUND: Children and adolescents with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCLP) show cognitive performance below expected. This difficulty can be associated with alterations in the cortical thickness and volume of brain regions. The aim of this study was to investigate anatomical brain characteristics and their relationship with the neuropsychological scores of children and adolescents with NSCLP. Methods: Twenty-four children and adolescents with ages from 10 to 16 years and 11 months (12 with a diagnosis of NSCLP; 12 with typical development) were enrolled. Neuropsychological tests were administered and high-resolution, structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in a 1.5 T scanner. Results: Compared to the control group, NSCLP individuals showed intellectual (p = 0.006) and cognitive (p = 0.003) impairment, as well as deficits in subdomains of executive functions (sustained attention, working memory, and cognitive planning). The morphological analysis showed reduced volumes and cortical thickness in temporal, parietal, and frontal regions, in both hemispheres, of the NSCLP group. Significant, strong associations of structural alterations and cognitive performance were observed. Conclusions: Our study provided strong evidence of the relationship between brain development in children and adolescents with NSCLP, and their neuropsychological profile. This relationship is characterized by a malfunction of associative areas of the brain, such as parieto-temporo-occipital, frontoparietal, and prefrontal regions.

Implicações de fatores atencionais no desempenho na leitura e escrita em escolares com fissura de lábio e palato / Implications of attention factors in the performance of reading and writing in schoolchildren with cleft lip and palate

OBJETIVO: Identificar e comparar os níveis atencionais e os desempenhos na leitura e escrita de escolares com fissura labiopalatina. MÉTODO: Participaram 60 crianças com fissura de lábio e palato isolada, idade entre 7 e 12 anos, ambos os gêneros. Foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos: Matrizes Progressivas Coloridas de Raven, o Teste de Desempenho Escolar - TDE, e o Teste de Atenção Difusa - TEDIF. Na análise estatística utilizou-se o Fisher's Exact Test e o Teste "T" de Student, com nível de significância de p<0,05. RESULTADOS: Verificou-se que, do total de participantes, 81,66% apresentaram desempenho inferior na Leitura e 85% desempenho inferior na Escrita; com relação à avaliação da Inteligência Geral a maioria dos participantes (91,66%) apresentou Inteligência Fluida preservada. Quanto à avaliação do nível atencional, tiveram desempenho nos quatro tempos avaliados pelo TEDIF, predominantemente nas classificações média e inferior; o índice médio foi de 66,6% no primeiro tempo de aplicação; 65% no segundo; 58,33% no terceiro; e, 58,40% no quarto. Considerando o índice inferior, 20% dos participantes tiveram essa classificação no primeiro e segundo tempo, 26,66% no terceiro tempo e 35% no quarto tempo, evidenciando aumento progressivo de participantes com desempenhos inferiores e a consequente diminuição nos níveis médio e superior. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados obtidos de correlações positivas entre as variáveis foram sugestivos de que desempenhos atencionais prejudicados comprometem o desempenho em tarefas de leitura e escrita. No entanto, o estudo sinalizou para a necessidade de estender a investigação para as demais habilidades cognitivas, tendo em vista a complexidade da função atencional na manutenção de repertórios acadêmicos.

OBJECTIVE: To identify and to compare the levels of attention and performance in the reading and writing of students with cleft lip and palate. METHODS: 60 children with cleft lip and palate isolated, aged between 7 and 12 years, both genders participated. Instruments used were: Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices, the School Performance Test - TDE, and the Diffuse Attention Test - TEDIF. Statistical analysis was performed using the Fisher's Exact Test and the Student's T-Test, with a significance level of p<0.05. RESULTS: It was verified that of the total of participants, 81.66% presented inferior performance in Reading and 85% inferior performance in Writing; with respect to the evaluation of General Intelligence the majority of participants (91.66%) presented Preserved Fluid Intelligence. Regarding the evaluation of the attentional level, they had performance in the four times evaluated by TEDIF, predominantly in the middle and lower ranks; the mean index was 66.6% at the first application time; 65% in the second; 58.33% in the third; and, 58.40% in the fourth. Considering the lower index, 20% of the participants had this classification in the first and second time, 26.66% in the third time and 35% in the fourth time, evidencing a progressive increase of participants with inferior performances and the consequent decrease in the middle and higher levels. CONCLUSION: The results obtained from positive correlations between the variables were suggestive that impaired attentional performance compromise performance in reading and writing tasks. However, this study pointed to the need to extend the research to other cognitive abilities, considering the complexity of the attentional function in the maintenance of academic repertoires.