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Working Memory Performance among Childhood Brain Tumor Survivors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2012

Heather M. Conklin ,
Jason M. Ashford ,
Robyn A. Howarth ,
Thomas E. Merchant ,
Robert J. Ogg ,
Victor M. Santana ,
Wilburn E. Reddick ,
Shengjie Wu  and
Xiaoping Xiong
Heather M. Conklin*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
Jason M. Ashford
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
Robyn A. Howarth
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
Thomas E. Merchant
Affiliation:
Division of Radiation Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
Robert J. Ogg
Affiliation:
Division of Translational Imaging Research, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
Victor M. Santana
Affiliation:
Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
Wilburn E. Reddick
Affiliation:
Division of Translational Imaging Research, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
Shengjie Wu
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
Xiaoping Xiong
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Heather M. Conklin, Department of Psychology, Mail Stop #740, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105. E-mail: heather.conklin@stjude.org
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Abstract

While longitudinal studies of children treated for brain tumors have consistently revealed declines on measures of intellectual functioning, greater specification of cognitive changes following treatment is imperative for isolating vulnerable neural systems and developing targeted interventions. Accordingly, this cross-sectional study evaluated the performance of childhood brain tumor survivors (n = 50) treated with conformal radiation therapy, solid tumor survivors (n = 40) who had not received central nervous system (CNS) -directed therapy, and healthy sibling controls (n = 40) on measures of working memory [Digit Span and computerized self-ordered search (SOS) tasks]. Findings revealed childhood brain tumor survivors were impaired on both traditional [Digit Span Backward- F(2,127)= 5.98; p < .01] and experimental [SOS-Verbal- F(2,124)= 4.18; p < .05; SOS-Object- F(2,126)= 5.29; p < .01] measures of working memory, and performance on working memory measures correlated with intellectual functioning (Digit Span Backward- r = .45; p < .0001; SOS- r = −.32 to −.26; p < .01). Comparison of performance on working memory tasks to recognition memory tasks (computerized delayed match-to-sample) offered some support for greater working memory impairment. This pattern of findings is consistent with vulnerability in functional networks that include prefrontal brain regions and has implications for the clinical management of children with brain tumors. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–10)

Keywords

CancerRadiation therapyCognitive late effectsPrefrontal cortexPediatricNeurodevelopment
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , November 2012 , pp. 996 - 1005
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2012

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