Exploratory research to find factors related to brain and cognitive development in children and adolescents : Focused on borderline intellectual functioning and mild mental retardatio
- Conditions
- Mental and behavioural disorders
- Registration Number
- KCT0005317
- Lead Sponsor
- The Catholic University of Korea, Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital
- Brief Summary
Moderate intellectual disability has been identified with biological causes in approximately 50% of cases, yet despite the rapidly increasing prevalence, the causes and comprehensive research for mild intellectual disability and borderline cognitive functioning remain insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the various comprehensive relationships between genetic and environmental factors, and how these factors can induce changes in brain circuits, focusing on children and adolescents with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning. The brain imaging techniques used included structural brain imaging, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), while cognitive function tests employed were KEDI-WISC, STROOP, CCTT, CPT, and WCST. Genetic testing began with CMA, and if significant findings were discovered, WGS was conducted for more detailed examination. The results revealed that, contrary to the belief that genetic mutations or anomalies in brain imaging are difficult to detect in cases of mild intellectual disability or borderline intelligence, significant abnormalities were found at a much higher rate than previously proven. Important genetic mutations were observed in 30.8% of children with mild intellectual disability and 43.8% of those with borderline intelligence, with common genetic mutations suggesting a relation to cognitive function also being discovered. Furthermore, the study confirmed the relationship between brain function and volume changes and cognitive function, showing that gender during adolescence is related to the maturity of the cerebellum, executive function, and attention, and that the cerebellum regulates cognitive functions during child development. This research lays an important foundation for subsequent studies by identifying subtle cognitive factors affecting brain cognitive function development, suggesting the necessity and potential for early screening including biological tests for infants at risk of intellectual disability. Such foundational data can be broadly applied and utilized not only for research on children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities or borderline cognitive functions but also for those with normal intelligence and adults. Clinically and policy-wise, identifying risk or protective factors affecting brain cognitive development and providing feedback on test results to guardians can reduce inappropriate guilt among guardians and help establish proper intervention plans. This is expected to contribute to the prevention of unnecessary interventions and the focused development of policies for target populations in future policy formulation.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- Completed
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 39
For those who wish to voluntarily participate by posting a recruitment notice through a bulletin board in the Brain Neurology Center at the Catholic University of Korea's Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital, criteria for recruitment are children from the age of 3 to under 18, and are included in the recruitment criteria in the following cases:
I. If a person has been diagnosed with a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual function, or is suspected of having a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual function due to a severe learning disability that is difficult to explain due to lack of learning, there has been a significant developmental delay;
II. Where there was a developmental delay but currently there is no suspicion of intellectual disability or borderline intellectual function;
III. Where there is no developmental delay and there is currently no suspicion of intellectual disability or borderline intellectual function
The case of obvious autism disorders and intellectual problems caused by clear head trauma, or if there are any internal diseases that may have a significant impact on the study, were excluded
Study & Design
- Study Type
- Observational Study
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method MRI image
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method executive function test