Career Adaptability and Academic Achievement Among Chinese High School Students: A Person-centered Longitudinal Study.

Career adaptability, essential for high school students' career development, is closely associated with academic achievement. However, it is still unclear whether there exist multiple subgroups among Chinese high school students that exhibit distinct combinations of the career adaptability dimensions and whether these subgroups display significant differences in academic achievement. Using latent profile analysis, this study identified career adaptability profiles in Chinese high school students and examined their effects on academic achievement through a longitudinal design. Chinese high school students (Wave 1: N = 1783, 42.9% boys, Mage = 15.17, SD = 0.86; Wave 2: N = 1395, 42.9% boys, 82.4% science students, Mage = 16.19, SD = 0.88) completed a packet of measures on two occasions at eight-month intervals. Career adaptability was assessed at Wave 1, and academic achievement was assessed at Wave 2. Five distinct career adaptability profiles were identified: (1) Low control and confidence; (2) Below average; (3) Control dominant and low confidence; (4) Above average; (5) High. Profiles of career adaptability displayed significant differences in academic achievement. High, Above average, and Control dominant and low confidence students' achievements were significantly higher than Low control and confidence students. These findings indicate that students with an overall high level of career adaptability or more robust career control are more likely to achieve higher academic achievement. In addition, level (average scores of all dimensions across different profiles) and shape (distinct forms displayed by the specific combination of dimensions) effects exist in the influence of career adaptability profiles on academic achievement. This highlights the dynamic and diverse nature of adolescent career development within the Chinese high school context.

High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) of the left middle temporal gyrus (LMTG) improves mathematical reasoning.

The role of the visuospatial network in mathematical processing has been established, but the role of the semantic neural network in mathematical processing is still poorly understood. The current study used high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) to examine whether the semantic network supports mathematical processing. Using a single-blind, randomized, sham-controlled experimental design, 48 participants were randomly assigned to receive either anodal or sham HD-tDCS on the left middle temporal gyrus (LMTG), a core region of the semantic network. A number series completion task was used to measure mathematical reasoning and an arithmetical computation task was used as a control condition. Both tasks were administered before and after the 20 min HD-tDCS. The results showed that anodal HD-tDCS on the LMTG enhanced performance on the number series completion task, but not on the arithmetical computation task. Trial-level analysis further showed greater improvement at the more difficult problems of the number series completion task. These results demonstrate that the semantic network plays an important role in mathematical processing.

The impact of adolescent achievement goal orientation on learning anxiety: The mediation effect of peer interaction.

Learning anxiety is one of the most critical emotional disturbances, which also has a high incidence rate in adolescents. Peer interaction is critical and unique for adolescents. Although previous studies have found that achievement goal orientation has an important role in the development of learning anxiety, its mechanism has not been clarified. This study surveyed 470 adolescents (191 middle school students and 279 high school students; 211 boys) and established a structural equation model to explore the mediating role of peer interaction in the influence of achievement goal orientation on learning anxiety. Results showed that (1) there were significant gender differences in mastery-avoidance goal orientation, peer interaction, and learning anxiety, and there were grade differences in performance-approach goal and performance-avoidance goal orientations; (2) mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, and performance-avoidance goal orientations directly predicted learning anxiety; and (3) social anxiety in peer interactions had a mediating effect on the influence of mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, and performance-avoidance goal orientations on learning anxiety. The findings extend theoretical considerations by teasing out the process of peer interaction affecting the relationship between achievement goal orientation and learning anxiety. Additionally, the results have practical implications for the effective use of peer interaction to reduce learning anxiety.

Altered resting-state functional connectivity in the prefrontal cortex is related to the development of dyscalculia in patients with Turner syndrome.

AIM: Patients with Turner syndrome have a high rate of developmental dyscalculia, but the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms are not well-understood. Some studies have implicated visuospatial impairments in patients with Turner syndrome, but others have focused on poor procedural skills in patients with Turner syndrome. This study used brain imaging data to test these two alternative views. METHODS: This study recruited 44 girls with Turner syndrome (mean age, 12.91 years; SD, 2.02), with 13 (29.5%) of them meeting the criterion for developmental dyscalculia, and 14 normally developing girls (mean age, 14.26 years; SD, 2.18) as a comparison group. All participants were given basic mathematical ability tests and an intelligence test and were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging. We compared patients with Turner syndrome who had dyscalculia, patients with Turner syndrome who did not have dyscalculia, and the normal controls in terms of brain structures and resting-state functional activity. RESULTS: Compared with normal controls, both groups of patients with Turner syndrome (with or without dyscalculia) showed similarly altered functional connectivity in the occipitoparietal dorsal stream. Importantly, compared with patients with Turner syndrome without dyscalculia and normal controls, patients with Turner syndrome with dyscalculia showed decreased functional connectivity between the prefrontal and the lateral occipital cortex. CONCLUSION: We concluded that both groups of patients with Turner syndrome shared visual deficits, and patients with Turner syndrome with dyscalculia had a deficit in frontal cortex-based higher cognitive processing. It is not their visuospatial deficits but rather their deficits in higher cognitive processing that are responsible for the development of dyscalculia in patients with Turner syndrome.

The database for extracting numerical and visual properties of numerosity processing in the Chinese population.

The ability to handle non-symbolic numerosity has been recurrently linked to mathematical abilities. The accumulated data provide a rich resource that can reflect the underlying properties (i.e., dot ratio, area, convex hull, perimeters, distance, and hash) of numerosity processing. This article reports a database of numerosity processing in the Chinese population. The database contains five independent datasets with 7459, 4902, 415, 671, 414 participants respectively. For each dataset, all data were collected in the same online computerized test, examination room, professorial tester, and using the same protocols. Computational modeling method could be used to extract the dot ratio and visual properties of numerosity from five types of dot stimuli. This database enables researchers to test the theoretical hypotheses regarding numerosity processing using a large sample population. The database can also indicate the individual difference of non-symbolic numerosity in mathematical abilities.

Math anxiety as an independent psychological construct among social-emotional attitudes: An exploratory factor analysis.

Math anxiety is a widespread problem for children and adolescents worldwide. However, the psychological trait of math anxiety is poorly understood. The present study aimed to examine the psychological construct of math anxiety among social-emotional attitudes. A total of 28,726 students, including 17,378 fourth graders and 11,348 eighth graders, were selected from the Qingdao Basic Education Quality Assessment database using multi-stage cluster random sampling. There were 10 questionnaires assessing social-emotional attitudes in the database. Pearson's correlation analyses were performed to examine the intercorrelations between social-emotional attitudes and mathematical performance. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to examine the psychological structure of these 10 social-emotional attitudes. After controlling for other social-emotional attitudes, math anxiety had a weak but significant correlation to mathematical performance in most subtests across grades. Among three-factor, four-factor, and five-factor EFA models, math anxiety was an independent factor that was separate from other social-emotional attitudes across six parallel subtests in grades four and eight. Math anxiety is a stable and independent psychological construct that is separate from other social-emotional attitudes. It suggests that math anxiety should be considered as a distinct anxiety disorder specific to mathematical learning in subsequent versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Dyscalculia and dyslexia in Chinese children with idiopathic epilepsy: Different patterns of prevalence, comorbidity, and gender differences.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of dyscalculia, dyslexia, and their comorbidity rates in a large population-based sample of children with idiopathic epilepsy (N = 2282) and a comparison sample of typically developing schoolchildren (N = 2371). METHODS: Both groups of children were screened using an arithmetic fluency test for dyscalculia and a reading fluency test for dyslexia. Their comorbidity rates were assessed. The prevalence rates of dyscalculia, dyslexia, comorbidity, and isolated dyscalculia/dyslexia (ie, participants with comorbid dyslexia and dyscalculia were excluded) were analyzed. RESULTS: In both -1.5 SD and -1 SD cutoff criterion, the prevalence rates were about two times higher in children with idiopathic epilepsy than in other schoolchildren; the prevalence rates of isolated dyslexia were higher in children with idiopathic epilepsy than in other schoolchildren (-1 SD: 10.9% vs 8.6%; -1.5 SD: 6.5% vs 4.7%). Meanwhile, comorbidity rates of dyscalculia and dyslexia were higher in children with idiopathic epilepsy than in other schoolchildren (32.7% vs 26.6%; 38.3% vs 23.5%, respectively). Overall, patterns of prevalence rates were different for children with idiopathic epilepsy and schoolchildren, in which children with idiopathic epilepsy had a higher prevalence rate of dyscalculia than dyslexia, while schoolchildren had a higher prevalence of dyslexia than dyscalculia, regardless of cutoff criteria. Interestingly, gender differences in the prevalence rates of all types of learning disabilities were found in schoolchildren, but there were only gender differences in the prevalence rates of dyslexia in children with idiopathic epilepsy. SIGNIFICANCE: The results highlight the vulnerability of children with idiopathic epilepsy for learning disabilities and a differential pattern of gender differences in dyslexia. Moreover, different patterns of prevalence rates suggest that children with idiopathic epilepsy and schoolchildren are more prone to different types of learning disabilities. The findings suggest needs for special interventions of learning disabilities for children with idiopathic epilepsy.

Algebra dissociates from arithmetic in the brain semantic network.

BACKGROUND: Mathematical expressions mainly include arithmetic (such as 8 - (1 + 3)) and algebra (such as a - (b + c)). Previous studies have shown that both algebraic processing and arithmetic involved the bilateral parietal brain regions. Although previous studies have revealed that algebra was dissociated from arithmetic, the neural bases of the dissociation between algebraic processing and arithmetic is still unclear. The present study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify the specific brain networks for algebraic and arithmetic processing. METHODS: Using fMRI, this study scanned 30 undergraduates and directly compared the brain activation during algebra and arithmetic. Brain activations, single-trial (item-wise) interindividual correlation and mean-trial interindividual correlation related to algebra processing were compared with those related to arithmetic. The functional connectivity was analyzed by a seed-based region of interest (ROI)-to-ROI analysis. RESULTS: Brain activation analyses showed that algebra elicited greater activation in the angular gyrus and arithmetic elicited greater activation in the bilateral supplementary motor area, left insula, and left inferior parietal lobule. Interindividual single-trial brain-behavior correlation revealed significant brain-behavior correlations in the semantic network, including the middle temporal gyri, inferior frontal gyri, dorsomedial prefrontal cortices, and left angular gyrus, for algebra. For arithmetic, the significant brain-behavior correlations were located in the phonological network, including the precentral gyrus and supplementary motor area, and in the visuospatial network, including the bilateral superior parietal lobules. For algebra, significant positive functional connectivity was observed between the visuospatial network and semantic network, whereas for arithmetic, significant positive functional connectivity was observed only between the visuospatial network and phonological network. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that algebra relies on the semantic network and conversely, arithmetic relies on the phonological and visuospatial networks.

Examining the Differential Role of General and Specific Processing Speed in Predicting Mathematical Achievement in Junior High School.

Processing speed is divided into general (including perceptual speed and decision speed) and specific processing speed (including reading fluency and arithmetic fluency). Despite several study findings reporting the association between processing speed and children's mathematical achievement, it is still unclear whether general or specific processing speed differentially predicts mathematical achievement. The current study aimed to examine the role of general and specific processing speed in predicting mathematical achievements of junior high school students. Cognitive testing was performed in 212 junior school students at the beginning of the 7th grade year, along with assessment of general and specific processing speed. Relevant academic achievement scores were also recorded at the end of the 7th and 9th grade years. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that specific processing speed made a significant unique contribution in mathematical achievement by the end of the 7th grade and could significantly predict mathematical achievements in the high school entrance examinations by end of the 9th grade after controlling for age, gender, and general cognitive abilities. However, general processing speed could not predict mathematical achievements. Moreover, specific processing speed could significantly predict all academic achievements for both the 7th and 9th grade. These results demonstrated that specific processing speed, rather than general processing speed, was able to predict mathematical achievement and made a generalised contribution to all academic achievements in junior school. These findings suggest that specific processing speed could be a reflection of academic fluency and is therefore critical for long-term academic development.

Neural association between non-verbal number sense and arithmetic fluency.

Non-verbal number sense has been shown to significantly correlate with arithmetic fluency. Accumulated behavioral evidence indicates that the cognitive mechanism relies on visual perception. However, few studies have investigated the neural mechanism underlying this association. Following the visual perception account, we hypothesized that there would be a neural association in occipital areas of the brain between non-verbal number sense, arithmetic fluency, and visual perception. We analyzed event-related potentials that are sensitive to neural responses while participants performed five cognitive tasks: simple addition, simple subtraction, numerosity comparison, figure matching, and character rhyming. The single-trial ERP-behavior correlation approach was used to enhance the statistical power. The results showed that the N1 component significantly correlated with reaction time at occipital electrodes on all tasks except for character rhyming. The N1 component for arithmetic fluency (simple addition and subtraction) and character rhyming correlated with the reaction time for numerosity comparison and figure matching. The results suggest that there are neural associations between arithmetic fluency, non-verbal number sense, and visual perception in the occipital cortex, and that visual perception is the shared mechanism for both non-verbal number sense and arithmetic fluency.

Oxcarbazepine monotherapy in children with benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes improves quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is the most common type of childhood idiopathic focal epilepsy. BECTS is associated with pervasive cognitive deficits and behavior problems. While seizures can be easily controlled, it is crucial to select anti-epileptic drugs that do not impair cognition, do not cause psychosocial effects, and improve the quality of life. Previous studies showed effects of oxcarbazepine (OXC) monotherapy on the cognitive and psychosocial profiles of patients with BECTS. Here, we studied the effects of OXC monotherapy on the neuropsychologic profiles and quality of life in patients with BECTS in China. METHODS: Thirty-one patients aged 6 to 12 years newly diagnosed with BECTS were recruited. A psychometric assessment was performed before and during the follow-up of OXC monotherapy with Cognitive Computerized Task Battery, Depression Self-Rating Scale for children, Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, and Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31 (QOLIE-31). The results of the assessments were compared to explore the effect of OXC monotherapy in patients with BECTS. RESULTS: Thirty children with BECTS completed the study. Five of ten cognitive test scores improved after treatment via OXC monotherapy, including visual tracing (F = 14.480, P < 0.001), paired associated learning (language) (F = 6.292, P < 0.001), paired associated learning (number) (F = 9.721, P < 0.05), word semantic (F = 6.003, P < 0.05), and simple subtraction (F = 6.229, P < 0.05). Of the neuropsychology data concerning the quality of life, statistically significant improvements were observed in emotion (F = 4.946, P < 0.05), QOLIE-social (F = 5.912, P < 0.05), and QOLIE-total (F = 14.161, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: OXC is safe and does not impair neuropsychologic functions, with no obvious mood burden on children with BECTS. Most importantly, OXC has positive impacts on children's perception of quality of life, especially in terms of happiness and life satisfaction.

The effect of interictal epileptiform discharges on cognitive and academic performance in children with idiopathic epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: Interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) have been proven to impair cognitive function. However, it is not clear whether IEDs disrupt academic performance in children with idiopathic epilepsy, and the contribution of cognitive function deficits to impaired academic performance has not been clarified. This study aimed to examine the cognitive deficits and academic impairment in childhood idiopathic epilepsy with IEDs. METHODS: Ninety-seven childhood idiopathic epilepsy with IEDs, 77 childhood idiopathic epilepsy without IEDs, and 71 healthy controls completed a series of cognitive tests. We analyzed the cognitive performance in several domains including language, mathematics, psychomotor speed, spatial ability, memory, general intelligence, attention and executive functioning. Analysis of variance was conducted to compare the performance on all tests between the three groups. RESULTS: Childhood idiopathic epilepsy with IEDs exhibited not only general cognitive deficits in processing speed, spatial ability, and attention, but also arithmetic impairment. Furthermore, general cognitive deficits could account for the impaired arithmetic performance in childhood idiopathic epilepsy with IEDs. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggested that IEDs in children with idiopathic epilepsy affected both cognitive function and academic performance, and that the cognitive deficits may be responsible for arithmetic performance impairment.

Short-term numerosity training promotes symbolic arithmetic in children with developmental dyscalculia: The mediating role of visual form perception.

Studies have shown that numerosity-based arithmetic training can promote arithmetic learning in typically developing children as well as children with developmental dyscalculia (DD), but the cognitive mechanism underlying this training effect remains unclear. The main aim of the current study was to examine the role of visual form perception in arithmetic improvement through an 8-day numerosity training for DD children. Eighty DD children were selected from four Chinese primary schools. They were randomly divided into the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received training on an apple-collecting game, whereas the control group received an English dictation task. Children's cognitive and arithmetic performances were assessed before and after training. The results showed that the intervention group showed a significant improvement in arithmetic performance, approximate number system (ANS) acuity, and visual form perception, but not in spatial processing and sentence comprehension. The control group showed no significant improvement in any cognitive ability. Mediation analysis further showed that training-related improvement in arithmetic performance was fully mediated by the improvement in visual form perception. The results suggest that short-term numerosity training enhances the arithmetic performance of DD children by improving their visual form perception.

Individualized prediction of dispositional worry using white matter connectivity.

BACKGROUND: Excessive worry is a defining feature of generalized anxiety disorder and is present in a wide range of other psychiatric conditions. Therefore, individualized predictions of worry propensity could be highly relevant in clinical practice, with respect to the assessment of worry symptom severity at the individual level. METHODS: We applied a multivariate machine learning approach to predict dispositional worry based on microstructural integrity of white matter (WM) tracts. RESULTS: We demonstrated that the machine learning model was able to decode individual dispositional worry scores from microstructural properties in widely distributed WM tracts (mean absolute error = 10.46, p < 0.001; root mean squared error = 12.82, p < 0.001; prediction R2 = 0.17, p < 0.001). WM tracts that contributed to worry prediction included the posterior limb of internal capsule, anterior corona radiate, and cerebral peduncle, as well as the corticolimbic pathways (e.g. uncinate fasciculus, cingulum, and fornix) already known to be critical for emotion processing and regulation. CONCLUSIONS: The current work thus elucidates potential neuromarkers for clinical assessment of worry symptoms across a wide range of psychiatric disorders. In addition, the identification of widely distributed pathways underlying worry propensity serves to better improve the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms associated with worry.

Dyslexia and dyscalculia are characterized by common visual perception deficits.

A number of studies have investigated the cognitive deficits underlying dyslexia and dyscalculia. Yet, it remains unclear as to whether dyslexia and dyscalculia are associated with the common visual perception deficits. The current investigation analyzed cognitive performance in children with dyslexia, dyscalculia, comorbidity, and typically developing subjects. The results showed that children with dyslexia, dyscalculia and comorbidity exhibited common deficits in numerosity processing and visual perception. Furthermore, visual perception deficits accounted for deficits in numerosity processing in all three groups. The results suggest that visual perception deficits are a common cognitive deficit underlying both developmental dyslexia and dyscalculia.

Genotype-Phenotype Analysis, Neuropsychological Assessment, and Growth Hormone Response in a Patient with 18p Deletion Syndrome.

18p deletion syndrome is a rare chromosomal disease caused by deletion of the short arm of chromosome 18. By using cytogenetic and SNP array analysis, we identified a girl with 18p deletion syndrome exhibiting craniofacial anomalies, intellectual disability, and short stature. G-banding analysis of metaphase cells revealed an abnormal karyotype 46,XX,del(18)(p10). Further, SNP array detected a 15.3-Mb deletion at 18p11.21p11.32 (chr18:12842-15375878) including 61 OMIM genes. Genotype-phenotype correlation analysis showed that clinical manifestations of the patient were correlated with LAMA1, TWSG1, and GNAL deletions. Her neuropsychological assessment test demonstrated delay in most cognitive functions including impaired mathematics, linguistic skills, visual motor perception, respond speed, and executive function. Meanwhile, her integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test (IVA-CPT) indicated a severe comprehensive attention deficit. At age 7 and 1/12 years, her height was 110.8 cm (-2.5 SD height for age). Growth hormone (GH) treatment was initiated. After 27 months treatment, her height was increased to 129.6 cm (-1.0 SD height for age) at 9 and 4/12 years, indicating an effective response to GH treatment.

Attention Contributes to Arithmetic Deficits in New-Onset Childhood Absence Epilepsy.

Neuropsychological studies indicate that new-onset childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) is associated with deficits in attention and executive functioning. However, the contribution of these deficits to impaired academic performance remains unclear. We aimed to examine whether attention and executive functioning deficits account for the academic difficulties prevalent in patients with new-onset CAE. We analyzed cognitive performance in several domains, including language, mathematics, psychomotor speed, spatial ability, memory, general intelligence, attention, and executive functioning, in 35 children with new-onset CAE and 33 control participants. Patients with new-onset CAE exhibited deficits in mathematics, general intelligence, attention, and executive functioning. Furthermore, attention deficits, as measured by a visual tracing task, accounted for impaired arithmetic performance in the new-onset CAE group. Therefore, attention deficits, rather than impaired general intelligence or executive functioning, may be responsible for arithmetic performance deficits in patients with new-onset CAE.

Visual Form Perception Can Be a Cognitive Correlate of Lower Level Math Categories for Teenagers.

Numerous studies have assessed the cognitive correlates of performance in mathematics, but little research has been conducted to systematically examine the relations between visual perception as the starting point of visuospatial processing and typical mathematical performance. In the current study, we recruited 223 seventh graders to perform a visual form perception task (figure matching), numerosity comparison, digit comparison, exact computation, approximate computation, and curriculum-based mathematical achievement tests. Results showed that, after controlling for gender, age, and five general cognitive processes (choice reaction time, visual tracing, mental rotation, spatial working memory, and non-verbal matrices reasoning), visual form perception had unique contributions to numerosity comparison, digit comparison, and exact computation, but had no significant relation with approximate computation or curriculum-based mathematical achievement. These results suggest that visual form perception is an important independent cognitive correlate of lower level math categories, including the approximate number system, digit comparison, and exact computation.

Modality-Dependent or Modality-Independent Processing in Mental Arithmetic: Evidence From Unimpaired Auditory Multiplication for a Patient With Left Frontotemporal Stroke.

OBJECTIVES: Mental arithmetic is essential to daily life. Researchers have explored the mechanisms that underlie mental arithmetic. Whether mental arithmetic fact retrieval is dependent on surface modality or knowledge format is still highly debated. Chinese individuals typically use a procedure strategy for addition; and they typically use a rote verbal strategy for multiplication. This provides a way to examine the effect of surface modality on different arithmetic operations. METHODS: We used a series of neuropsychological tests (i.e., general cognitive, language processing, numerical processing, addition, and multiplication in visual and auditory conditions) for a patient who had experienced a left frontotemporal stroke. RESULTS: The patient had language production impairment; but preserved verbal processing concerning basic numerical abilities. Moreover, the patient had preserved multiplication in the auditory presentation rather than in the visual presentation. The patient suffered from impairments in an addition task, regardless of visual or auditory presentation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that mental multiplication could be characterized as a form of modality-dependent processing, which was accessed through auditory input. The learning strategy of multiplication table recitation could shape the verbal memory of multiplication leading to persistence of the auditory module. (JINS, 2017, 23, 692-699).

Common and Distinctive Patterns of Cognitive Dysfunction in Children With Benign Epilepsy Syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes are the most common forms of benign epilepsy syndromes. Although cognitive dysfunctions occur in children with both childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, the similarity between their patterns of underlying cognitive impairments is not well understood. To describe these patterns, we examined multiple cognitive functions in children with childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. METHODS: In this study, 43 children with childhood absence epilepsy, 47 children with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, and 64 control subjects were recruited; all received a standardized assessment (i.e., computerized test battery) assessing processing speed, spatial skills, calculation, language ability, intelligence, visual attention, and executive function. Groups were compared in these cognitive domains. Simple regression analysis was used to analyze the effects of epilepsy-related clinical variables on cognitive test scores. RESULTS: Compared with control subjects, children with childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes showed cognitive deficits in intelligence and executive function, but performed normally in language processing. Impairment in visual attention was specific to patients with childhood absence epilepsy, whereas impaired spatial ability was specific to the children with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Simple regression analysis showed syndrome-related clinical variables did not affect cognitive functions. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence of both common and distinctive cognitive features underlying the relative cognitive difficulties in children with childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Our data suggest that clinicians should pay particular attention to the specific cognitive deficits in children with childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, to allow for more discriminative and potentially more effective interventions.