Abstract
Primary objective: This study aimed at investigating the long-term effects of the combination of severity of injury and time of injury in a 6-year-old bilingual Arabic-Italian child who sustained a severe left traumatic brain injury at the age of 7 months. Methods and procedures: Standard neurological, cognitive and neuropsychological assessments were administered at 40 days after surgery and again at 18, 31, 62 and 73 months. Main outcomes and results: The child presented with developmental arrest at 18 and 31 months. Later on, right hemiparetic and oculomotor signs gradually improved to a significant extent, as well as dysexecutive, visuospatial and praxic deficits. At present, persistent language disorders in a fluent speech characterize the child's profile to a similar extent and type in both languages, suggesting common underlying learning strategies which are ineffective for procedurally acquiring language. Conclusions: This case confirms that children who sustain severe left hemisphere traumatic brain injury in infancy present with increased vulnerability to linguistic deficits. Left frontotemporal, cortical-subcortical lesions which occur during very early language development may permanently disrupt the procedural language acquisition network required for first language acquisition.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 167-171 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Brain Injury |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |
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Keywords
- Bilingual aphasia
- Neuroplasticity
- Recovery
- Traumatic brain injury
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
Cite this
Language and cognition in a bilingual child after traumatic brain injury in infancy : Long-term plasticity and vulnerability. / Tavano, Alessandro; Galbiati, Susanna; Recla, Monica; Formica, Francesca; Giordano, Flavio; Genitori, Lorenzo; Strazzer, Sandra.
In: Brain Injury, Vol. 23, No. 2, 2009, p. 167-171.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Language and cognition in a bilingual child after traumatic brain injury in infancy
T2 - Long-term plasticity and vulnerability
AU - Tavano, Alessandro
AU - Galbiati, Susanna
AU - Recla, Monica
AU - Formica, Francesca
AU - Giordano, Flavio
AU - Genitori, Lorenzo
AU - Strazzer, Sandra
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Primary objective: This study aimed at investigating the long-term effects of the combination of severity of injury and time of injury in a 6-year-old bilingual Arabic-Italian child who sustained a severe left traumatic brain injury at the age of 7 months. Methods and procedures: Standard neurological, cognitive and neuropsychological assessments were administered at 40 days after surgery and again at 18, 31, 62 and 73 months. Main outcomes and results: The child presented with developmental arrest at 18 and 31 months. Later on, right hemiparetic and oculomotor signs gradually improved to a significant extent, as well as dysexecutive, visuospatial and praxic deficits. At present, persistent language disorders in a fluent speech characterize the child's profile to a similar extent and type in both languages, suggesting common underlying learning strategies which are ineffective for procedurally acquiring language. Conclusions: This case confirms that children who sustain severe left hemisphere traumatic brain injury in infancy present with increased vulnerability to linguistic deficits. Left frontotemporal, cortical-subcortical lesions which occur during very early language development may permanently disrupt the procedural language acquisition network required for first language acquisition.
AB - Primary objective: This study aimed at investigating the long-term effects of the combination of severity of injury and time of injury in a 6-year-old bilingual Arabic-Italian child who sustained a severe left traumatic brain injury at the age of 7 months. Methods and procedures: Standard neurological, cognitive and neuropsychological assessments were administered at 40 days after surgery and again at 18, 31, 62 and 73 months. Main outcomes and results: The child presented with developmental arrest at 18 and 31 months. Later on, right hemiparetic and oculomotor signs gradually improved to a significant extent, as well as dysexecutive, visuospatial and praxic deficits. At present, persistent language disorders in a fluent speech characterize the child's profile to a similar extent and type in both languages, suggesting common underlying learning strategies which are ineffective for procedurally acquiring language. Conclusions: This case confirms that children who sustain severe left hemisphere traumatic brain injury in infancy present with increased vulnerability to linguistic deficits. Left frontotemporal, cortical-subcortical lesions which occur during very early language development may permanently disrupt the procedural language acquisition network required for first language acquisition.
KW - Bilingual aphasia
KW - Neuroplasticity
KW - Recovery
KW - Traumatic brain injury
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=59749099431&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=59749099431&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02699050802657012
DO - 10.1080/02699050802657012
M3 - Article
VL - 23
SP - 167
EP - 171
JO - Brain Injury
JF - Brain Injury
SN - 0269-9052
IS - 2
ER -