Verbal-performance IQ discrepancies on the WISC-R.

Examined discrepancy scores (Verbal IQ minus Performance IQ) for the WISC-R, using the standardization sample--100 boys and 100 girls at each of 11 age levels between 61/2 and 161/2 yrs (2,200 Ss). The occurrence of significant discrepancy scores (Verbal > Performance and Performance > Verbal) was not significantly related to age, sex, or race, although significant relationships were obtained with both parental occupation and intelligence level. The mean absolute discrepancy score (regardless of sign) was about 10 IQ points for each age group, for boys and girls, for Blacks and Whites, and for the different occupational groups. Discrepancy score norms (cumulative distributions) are presented by intelligence level and are interpreted in terms of their clinical significance. Several of these findings closely parallel results of a study of the 1949 WISC by H. G. Seashore (see record 1952-06292-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neurobehaviour of school age children born to diabetic mothers

AIM: To study the neurobehavioural effects that diabetes during pregnancy might have on children by school age. METHODS: The neurobehavioural function of 57 school age children born to 48, well controlled diabetic mothers was compared with 57 control children matched for age, birth order, and parental socioeconomic status, using several cognitive, behavioural, sensory and motor neurological tests. RESULTS: The IQ scores of the index group children were similar to those of control children (117.7 +/- 13.4 vs 118.5 +/- 10.1). There were no differences between the groups in various sensory motor functions. However, the index group children performed less well than the controls on indices of fine and gross motor functions, as observed on the Bruininks-Oseretzky test of motor proficiency. The scores of children born to diabetic mothers were higher than controls on the Touwen and Prechtl neurological examination. They also performed worse in the Pollack tapper test which is designed to detect minor neurological deficits, inattention, and hyperactivity. The index children had higher scores on the Conners abbreviated parent-teacher questionnaire which measures hyperactivity and inattention. There was a negative correlation between the performance of the index group children on various neurodevelopmental and behavioural tests and the severity of hyperglycaemia, as assessed by blood glycosylated haemoglobin and acetonuria. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes during pregnancy adversely affects some fine neurological functions in children at school age, but not their cognitive scores. These effects are not correlated with the degree of glycaemic control.     

Cognitive deficits, learning disabilities, and WISC Verbal–Performance consistency.

Three experiments compared 52 10–11 yr olds with specific learning disabilities (LDs) with controls on several tests of information processing and memory. Results show that (a) LD children with a balanced WISC Verbal–Performance IQ showed some deficit in the semantic processing of auditory verbal material; this deficit was not shown by LDs having a Performance IQ at least 15 points higher than their Verbal IQ; (b) increasing rate of presentation in information processing tasks did not affect the LDs more than the controls; (c) although the LDs showed little or no deficit in auditory digit span, they showed large deficits in short-term memory (STM) tasks involving supraspan auditory messages. A possible causal relationship between the STM deficits and academic disabilities is discussed in terms of an inability of the STM maintenance system to deal with overload. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery—Children's Revision: Concurrent validity with three learning disability subtypes.

Concurrent validity of the Luria-Nebraska Psychological Battery—Children's Revision (LNNB—C) was studied in 82 learning disabled children who were divided into three groups according to Verbal and Performance IQ differences on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R). The three groups, comparable in age and on WISC—R Full-Scale IQ scores, were designated auditory-linguistic (Verbal IQ?     

Speech and language skills in children who required neonatal intensive care. I. Spontaneous speech at 6.5 years of age

Spontaneous speech at age 6.5 years was studied separately in a follow-up of speech and language skills in a regional cohort of 284 children requiring neonatal intensive care and in 40 controls. Eight aspects of spontaneous speech were evaluated in a conversation: A1, information; A2, speech motor function; A3, sound pattern; A4, word finding; A5, word selection; A6, grammar; A7, interaction; and A8, motivation. The children were grouped by gestational age. Most children had well developed spontaneous speech. The different groups showed very few differences in types of deviations in spontaneous speech. All groups differed from the controls in speech motor function and formal language (A2-A6), but only one child, born at <32 weeks, had a pronounced deviation in one of these aspects. Obvious deviations in one or more aspects of spontaneous speech were more common among children born at 28-31 weeks and in those born fullterm (> or =37 weeks) than among extremely preterm children born at 23-27 weeks.     

Sex similarities in verbal and performance IQ deficits following unilateral cerebral lesions.

Investigated whether men and women produce similar Verbal IQ and Performance IQ patterns following unilateral cerebral lesions. Ss included 24 women (mean age 43.96 yrs) and 24 men (mean age 45.08 yrs) with independent neurological evidence of neoplastic or vascular lesions of the right cerebral hemisphere, 24 women (mean age 47.88 yrs) and 24 men (mean age 47.50 yrs) with such lesion evidence of the left cerebral hemisphere, and 14 female (mean age 46.43 yrs) and 14 male (mean age 45.50 yrs) controls. Each group was equated for education, lesion site, severity, chronicity, and etiology. Ss were administered the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, and differences in Verbal and Performance IQ values were compared. Contrary to reports in the literature, no consistent evidence of Sex?×?Lesioned Hemisphere interactions was found. Differences in the lateralization effects between men and women were not reflected in direction or pattern but only in magnitude, arguing against a theory of differential cognitive lateralization according to sex. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Twins: Patterns of cognitive development as measured on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence.

Appraised cognitive patterning and development for 142 pairs of twins at 4, 5, and 6 yrs of age, based on their test scores on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. Compared with the singleton norms, the twins showed an initial lag at age 4, with Verbal IQ being somewhat more depressed than Performance IQ. By age 6, however, the twins had fully recovered their deficit on both scales and reached parity with singletons. Monozygotic twins displayed relatively high within-pair correlations for Verbal IQ and Performance IQ, and even higher correlations for Full Scale IQ. Dizygotic twins displayed moderate within-pair correlations for the IQ scores, and most were significantly lower than the monozygotic correlations. Further analysis showed that monozygotic twins were also significantly more concordant for the differences between Verbal IQ and Performance IQ, and for the patterning of the subtest scores. Measures of family socioeconomic status and parental education correlated .28-.32 with the twins' IQ at age 6. Results suggest that within a broad range of home environments, the genetic blueprint made a substantial contribution to cognitive patterning and development. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neurological implications of WISC verbal-performance discrepancies in a psychiatric setting.

20 children with at least a 25-point difference between the WISC Verbal and Performance IQs (in either direction) were compared with 20 matched control Ss from the same hospital population. The criterion Ss with Verbal IQs at least 25 points higher than Performance IQs had significantly more medical diagnoses of brain damage, more pathological signs on neurological examinations, more abnormal electroencephalograms, and poorer performance on many psychological tests sensitive to brain damage. Those children with Performance IQs that were 25 points or more higher than Verbal IQs were found not to differ from their controls on any of the brain-injury indicators. A 35-variable correlation matrix was computed. The Lincoln-Oseretsky Motor Development Scale raw scores correlated -7.6 with the neurological examination ratings. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speech and language in high-functioning autistic individuals.

Verbal individuals with autism provide an important opportunity for investigating the qualitative nature of speech and language impairments in autism. In this study, a psychometric analysis of the language performance of 62 high-functioning autistic (HFA; Full Scale IQ and Verbal IQ?>?70) participants was compared with that of 50 control participants matched for age, IQ, gender, race, education, and family socioeconomic distribution. Tests were included to compare basic procedural linguistic skills with complex, interpretive linguistic skills. The HFA participants did as well as controls on basic procedural language tests, but significantly less well on tests of complex interpretive language abilities. This profile is consistent with neuropsychological reports of generalized deficits in complex information-processing abilities with preservation of basic skills in the same functional areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial Working Memory Deficits in Children at Ages 3-4 Who Were Low Birth Weight, Preterm Infants.

The aim of this study was to investigate attention and perceptual and spatial working memory abilities in preterm, low birth weight preschool children without evident brain disorders as determined by normal cerebral ultrasound findings and normal motor development. The authors evaluated 19 preterm and 19 typically developing children who were matched for IQ and chronological age. Results indicated that children born prematurely without major neurological deficits and with a normal cognitive level may have specific difficulty in sustained attention, visuospatial processing, and spatial working memory when evaluated at ages 3-4. This finding is relevant for understanding the qualitative aspects of cognitive development in preterm children and the neurobiological substrate underlying this development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-speed digital videoimaging of fast eardrum motions during Valsalva maneuver

OBJECTIVE: To determine health and disabilities of preterm infants at age 10. DESIGN: Prospective follow-up study. SETTING: TNO Preventive en Gezondheid, sector Jeugd. Leiden, the Netherlands. METHOD: A questionnaire on medical consumption and physical disabilities was sent to the parents of a Dutch cohort of infants born alive in 1983 with a gestational age < 32 weeks and (or) a birth weight < 1500 g. The data were compared with outcomes at 5 years of age and with a peer group in mainstream education (data collected in a representative sample from the school health care system). RESULTS: Questionnaires on 75% of the eligible children were returned. Almost 40% of the preterm children had been admitted to hospital after the age of 5. Children in special education were significantly more often treated by a physiotherapist and (or) speech therapist. Overall 45% of the children suffered from a physical disability. This was six times as frequent as in a peer group from the school health survey. Although the assessment of physical disabilities was based on a paediatric examination at age 5 and on a parental questionnaire at age 10, differences were small. CONCLUSION: Mild developmental problems and learning disabilities are frequent in preterm infants. Research of preventive methods and timely interventions are needed and should be incorporated in the facilities for neonatal intensive care.     

Correlation of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery with the WAIS.

In a sample of 280 psychiatric, neurological, and normal Ss (mean age 35.7 yrs), Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery Verbal IQ correlated—.84, Performance IQ—.74, and Full Scale IQ—.84 with the WAIS, results very similar to those of A. Prifitera and J. J. Ryan (1981). Correlations between individual Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery scales and WAIS subtests are reported and their implications discussed. Present findings indicate that the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery can provide useful estimates of summary WAIS IQ scores. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two types of tables for use with the WAIS-R.

Confidence intervals for the WAIS-R were computed for the Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores. IQ intervals for the 85, 90, 95, and 99% levels of confidence are reported for each of the 9 standardization sample age groups and the entire sample. Differences between Verbal and Performance IQ scores required for 90 and 99% levels of significance are also reported. All values are computed on the basis of the standard errors of measurement reported in the WAIS-R manual for the standardization sample. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unilateral lesions and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised: No sex differences.

Tested sex differences previously reported in WAIS—R scores (Verbal IQ vs Performance IQ discrepancies) in male patients with unilateral lesions by administering the WAIS—R to 31 Ss (16 males [mean age 42.6 yrs] and 15 females [mean age 38.4 yrs]) with right-hemisphere lesions and to 32 Ss (17 males [mean age 32 yrs] and 15 females [mean age 40.7 yrs]) with left hemisphere lesions. Results show that both males and females had expected discrepancies between Verbal IQ and Performance IQ. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children conceived by in vitro fertilisation after fresh embryo transfer

AIMS: To compare the outcome in in vitro fertilisation (IVF) children (after fresh embryo transfer) from multiple and singleton births with one another, and with normally conceived control children. METHODS: A cohort of 278 children (150 singletons, 100 twins, 24 triplets and four quadruplets), conceived by IVF after three fresh embryos had been transferred, born between October 1984 and December 1991, and 278 normally conceived control children (all singletons), were followed up for four years after birth. They were assessed for neonatal conditions, minor congenital anomalies, major congenital malformations, cerebral palsy and other disabilities. Control children, all born at term, were matched for age, sex and social class. RESULTS: The ratio of male:female births was 1.03. Forty six per cent of IVF children were from multiple births; 34.9% were from preterm deliveries; and 43.2% weighed less than 2500 g at birth. The IVF singletons were on average born one week earlier than the controls, weighed 400 g less, and had a threefold greater chance of being born by caesarean section. The higher percentage of preterm deliveries was largely due to multiple births and they contributed to neonatal conditions in 45.0% of all IVF children. The types of congenital abnormalities varied: 3.6% of IVF children and 2.5% of controls had minor congenital anomalies, and 2.5% of IVF children and none of the controls had major congenital malformations. The numbers of each specific type of congenital abnormality were small and were not significantly related to multiple births. IVF children (2.1%) and 0.4% of the controls had mild/moderate disabilities. They were all from multiple births, including two children with cerebral palsy who were triplets. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of IVF treatment leading to multiple births is less satisfactory than that in singletons because of neonatal conditions associated with preterm delivery and disabilities in later childhood. A reduction of multiple pregnancies by limiting the transfer of embryos to two instead of three remains a high priority.     

Children with in utero cocaine exposure do not differ from control subjects on intelligence testing

OBJECTIVE: To determine if in utero cocaine exposure affects IQ scores in children at age 4 years. DESIGN: A prospective, longitudinal evaluation by blinded examiners of the IQ scores of cocaine-exposed and control children of low socioeconomic status who have been observed since birth. SETTING: A study center in an inner-city hospital. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred one children with in utero cocaine exposure and 118 control children, all of whom were 34 weeks' gestational age or older and nonasphyxiated at birth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Intelligence quotient scores on a standardized intelligence test, the Wechsler preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence--Revised. RESULTS: Seventy-one cocaine-exposed and 78 control children were administered the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence--Revised. Maternal, natal, and 30-month characteristics of the children tested did not differ from those not tested. Groups did not differ on mean Performance (83.2 vs 87.0), Verbal (79.0 vs 80.8), or Full Scale (79.0 vs 81.9) IQ scores (all P > or = .10 [values for cocaine-exposed children given first]). None of these 3 scores was associated with cocaine exposure in multivariate linear regressions. Although cocaine-exposed and control groups did not differ in outcome, 93% of cocaine-exposed and 96% of control children had Full Scale IQ scores below 100, the mean IQ score for the test. CONCLUSIONS: In an inner-city cohort, IQ scores did not differ between cocaine-exposed and control children. However, both groups performed poorly.     

Changes in seizure frequency and test-retest scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Test-retest performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) of two groups of adult epilepsy patients are presented and compared. In one group, Seizures Improved (SI) group, seizure frequency had decreased during the test-retest interval, and in the other group, Seizures Unimproved (SU) group, the number of seizures had either increased or stayed the same over the test-retest interval. The SI group showed a significant test-retest improvement on WAIS Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ, as well as on eight of 11 WAIS subtests. In comparison, the SU group showed significant increases only on the Performance IQ and Object Assembly subtest. Furthermore, differences between the two groups were observed in the pattern of test-retest changes seen on the Performance measures relative to the Verbal measures. The results suggest that change in seizure frequency is one of the factors associated with test-retest changes in the intellectual functioning of epilepsy patients.     

WISC-R subscale patterns of abilities of Blacks and Whites matched on Full Scale IQ.

270 Black and 270 White children (ages 6–16.5 yrs) drawn from the national stratified random sample used in the standardization of the WISC-R were matched on age, sex, and WISC-R Full-Scale IQ to facilitate investigation of the patterns of specific cognitive abilities, as measured by the 12 subtests of the WISC-R, between the 2 racial groups. Multivariate analysis of the patterns of subtest differences between Whites and Blacks and group comparisons on 3 orthogonalized factor scores (Verbal, Performance, Memory) showed small but reliable average White–Black differences in patterns of ability. The IQ-matched racial groups showed no significant difference on the Verbal factor; Whites exceeded Blacks on the Performance (largely spatial visualization) factor; Blacks exceeded Whites on the Memory factor. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some useful statistics for the interpretation of the WISC-R.

Argues that based on factor analytic research (A. S. Kaufman, 1975) on the WISC-R, a linear combination of 4 subtests (I,S,V,C) converted into a verbal comprehension deviation quotient (VCDQ) offers a purer measure of verbal skills than the WISC-R's Verbal IQ. Similarly, a perceptual organization deviation quotient (PODQ) was developed as an alternative to Performance IQ. Reliability of both the PODQ and the VCDQ was found to be equivalent to that of the WISC-R's Verbal and Performance IQ, and they are equally easy to compute. The impact of using the VCDQ and the PODQ vs the Verbal and Performance IQ was examined using the WISC-R scores of a sample of 275 urban school children who were referred for psychological examination. Differences that could substantially effect test interpretation were found. Special considerations in the use of the PODQ and the VCDQ and the use of a freedom from distractibility deviation quotient (FDDQ) devised by J. S. Sattler (1974) are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory failures in progressive idiopathic dementia.

14 patients with progressive idiopathic dementia (PID) were compared with 14 normal controls (average age 61.2 yrs) on psychometric and laboratory measures of cognitive processes. Patients had significantly lower scores than controls on the Wechsler Memory Scale and the WAIS Performance IQ, but not on WAIS Verbal or Full Scale IQ or Digit Span tests. Patients performed more poorly on learning and memory tasks than controls. Unlike the latter, patients' recall of categorized word lists was no better than their recall of unrelated words, and they did not consistently remember information that had been previously recalled. Patients also were unable to generate as many words that start with a given letter or that belong to a given category as controls did. Data show that while many intellectual functions are preserved, PID patients are unable to access structures in semantic memory and therefore fail to effectively encode episodic events so that they are memorable. Differences in cognitive dysfunction in PID and in depression are discussed. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)