Melanie Vaughn's research while affiliated with Arizona State University and other places

Neuropsychologists frequently work with patients who have specified brain lesions that produce well-documented cognitive or behavioral effects. However, for those clinicians working with school-age children or adolescents who suffer developmental disorders, the pathogenesis of cognitive and behavioral deficits may be poorly understood.

Previous research studies have shown that in adults, verbal fluency is impaired after lesion to the frontal lobes and left temporal lobe. More recently, there have been a few studies reported which indicated that in children, like adults, left hemisphere and frontal lesions result in pronounced effects on verbal fluency. The present study examined developmental differences in verbal fluency within a sample of 130 normal children, aged 6 to 12 years. Additionally, the same verbal fluency test was administered to two subgroups of children with developmental dyslexia and a group of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant between-group differences by age in the normal children. Further, ANOVA demonstrated that the verbal fluency measure was clinically useful in differentiating the Language Disorder/Dysphonetic Dyslexic subgroup from the Visual-Spatial/Dyseidetic Dyslexic subgroup and the ADHD group, with the latter two groups performing within the average range.

Previous research studies have shown that in adults, verbal fluency is impaired after lesion to the frontal lobes and left temporal lobe. More recently, there have been a few studies reported which indicated that in children, like adults, left hemisphere and frontal lesions result in pronounced effects on verbal fluency. The present study examined developmental differences in verbal fluency within a sample of 130 normal children, aged 6 to 12 years. Additionally, the same verbal fluency test was administered to two subgroups of children with developmental dyslexia and a group of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant between-group differences by age in the normal children. Further, ANOVA demonstrated that the verbal fluency measure was clinically useful in differentiating the Language Disorder/Dysphonetic Dyslexic subgroup from the Visual-Spatial/Dyseidetic Dyslexic subgroup and the ADHD group, with the latter two groups performing within the average range

Compared the effectiveness of discriminating attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) subtypes using the Parent Rating Scale (PRS) and Teacher Rating Scale (TRS) of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) and the Parent Report Form and Teacher Report Form (TRF) of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). To determine the extent to which these scales measured similar behaviors, Pearson Product-Moment Correlations were computed for the parent scales (PRS and CBCL) and for the teacher scales (TRS and TRF). Results indicated that correlations were significant for a number of scales. Discriminant analysis does not suggest a strong advantage of either measure in differentiating children with ADHD from those who do not meet criteria for ADHD, except for the BASC TRS which has better predictive ability for children who do not meet ADHD criteria. For subtypes of ADHD, and specifically the ADHD: Predominantly Inattentive subtype, however, results would favor the use of the BASC PRS and TRS.

Neuropsychologists frequently work with patients who have specified brain lesions that produce well-documented cognitive or behavioral effects. However, for those clinicians working with children or adolescents who suffer developmental disorders, the pathogenesis of cognitive and behavioral deficits may be poorly understood. This chapter reviews the anomalies of neurological development that not infrequently are seen in children and adolescents with developmental disorders. Most typically the neuropsychological manifestations of these anomalies impact on widely distributed functional systems, thus producing generalized and severe impairment. However, there are exceptions, especially with regard to anomalies of neuronal migration. Some basic understanding of these effects should aid neuropsychologists in a better conceptualization of how disorders of neurological development produce different effects than do discrete lesions of the central nervous system.