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Project

Predictive value of brain lesions for the presence and characteristics of cerebral visual impairment in children with cerebral palsy below the age of 6.

Cerebral visual impairment (CVI) is a neurological condition, in which our eyes can work perfectly yet our brain is not capable of interpreting the information. CVI occurs typically in children born preterm and specifically those who have brain lesions, leading to cerebral palsy. CVI has a negative impact on the cognitive and motor development of the child and that is why early diagnosis is necessary. Currently, our knowledge about the relation between brain lesions and CVI is not detailed enough to make a good prediction about who will develop CVI and who will not. This is also true because CVI is so complex in nature. So first of all, we need a good map of the different characteristics of CVI in the CP patients. Secondly, we need to look closer at the brain lesions, by scoring scans in different ways: a detailed look at the structure of the brain ànd a close look at the brain tracts that serve visual function. We will study this first in a group of children, aged 5 years, who have CP. Next, we will have a closer look at a cohort of children seen over the years in our CVI clinic in Leuven. By combining this information, we will eventually be able to build a prediction mode for the emergence of CVI in children with CP. And early prediction means early intervention, at a moment at which plasticity of the brain is at its optimum potential.

Date:1 Jan 2015 →  31 Dec 2017
Keywords:hersenletsels, cerebrale parese
Disciplines:Neurosciences, Biological and physiological psychology, Cognitive science and intelligent systems, Developmental psychology and ageing