Clinical Significance of Electroencephalography in Children with Specific Learning Disorders

Abstract

A specific learning disorder (SLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which academic skills, such as reading, writing, and mathematics ability, are below the expected range. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between spike-wave index and SLD in children. We recruited 110 child psychiatry outpatients (38 girls, 72 boys) with SLDs for this study between January 2015 and March 2018. The mean ± standard deviation patient age was 9.17 ± 1.87 years. Electroencephalography (EEG) findings were abnormal in 20.9% of children. We found that children with expressive language delay and who were born prematurely had a significantly higher risk of spike-wave index. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder was present in 55.5% of children with SLD. This comorbidity was significantly higher in children with a history of prenatal smoking exposure or premature birth. The EEG findings were particularly important in cases of SLD in children who were born prematurely and had expressive language delay. The spike-wave index is a potential marker of SLD and can be easily and noninvasively detected by EEG.

Keywords

specific learning disorder - children - electroencephalography

• References

• 1 Specific learning disorder. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. APA; Washington, DC: 2013
• 2 Papavasiliou A, Mattheou D, Bazigou H, Kotsalis C, Paraskevoulakos E. Written language skills in children with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Epilepsy Behav 2005; 6 (01) 50-58
• 3 Lv Y, Wang Z, Cui L, Ma D, Meng H. Cognitive correlates of interictal epileptiform discharges in adult patients with epilepsy in China. Epilepsy Behav 2013; 29 (01) 205-210
• 4 Aldenkamp A, Arends J. The relative influence of epileptic EEG discharges, short nonconvulsive seizures, and type of epilepsy on cognitive function. Epilepsia 2004; 45 (01) 54-63
• 5 Meekes J, Schinkel AJ. Effects of interictal epileptiform discharges on cognition. J Pediatr Epilepsy 2018; 7: 82-88
• 6 Carlsson G, Igelbrink-Schulze N, Neubauer BA, Stephani U. Neuropsychological long-term outcome of rolandic EEG traits. Epileptic Disord 2000; 2 (Suppl. 01) S63-S66
• 7 Bailet LL, Turk WR. The impact of childhood epilepsy on neurocognitive and behavioral performance: a prospective longitudinal study. Epilepsia 2000; 41 (04) 426-431
• 8 Monjauze C, Tuller L, Hommet C, Barthez MA, Khomsi A. Language in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Brain Lang 2005; 92 (03) 300-308
• 9 Afzal K, Anam S, Hunter SJ. The effects of antiepileptic drugs on pediatric cognition, mood, and behavior. J Pediatr Epilepsy 2017; 6: 3-18
• 10 Lyon MA. A comparison between WISC-III and WISC-R scores for learning disabilities reevaluations. J Learn Disabil 1995; 28 (04) 253-255
• 11 Zaimoğlu S, Türkdoğan D, Mazlum B, Bekiroğlu N, Tetik-Kabil A, Eyilikeder S. When is EEG indicated in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?. J Child Neurol 2015; 30 (13) 1785-1793
• 12 Silvestri R, Gagliano A, Calarese T. , et al. Ictal and interictal EEG abnormalities in ADHD children recorded over night by video-polysomnography. Epilepsy Res 2007; 75 (2-3): 130-137
• 13 Joshi CN, Chapman KE, Bear JJ, Wilson SB, Walleigh DJ, Scheuer ML. Semiautomated spike detection software Persyst 13 is noninferior to human readers when calculating the spike-wave index in electrical status epilepticus in sleep. J Clin Neurophysiol 2018; 35 (05) 370-374
• 14 Bishop DV, Snowling MJ. Developmental dyslexia and specific language impairment: same or different?. Psychol Bull 2004; 130 (06) 858-886
• 15 Bandla S, Mandadi GD, Bhogaraju A. Specific learning disabilities and psychiatric comorbidities in school children in South India. Indian J Psychol Med 2017; 39 (01) 76-82
• 16 Narberhaus A, Segarra-Castells MD, Pueyo-Benito R, Botet-Mussons F, Junqué C. Long-term cognitive dysfunctions in preterm subjects with intraventricular haemorrhage [in Spanish]. Rev Neurol 2008; 47 (02) 57-60
• 17 Jorge JG, Botelho C, Silva AM, Moi GP. Influence of passive smoking on learning in elementary school. J Pediatr (Rio J) 2016; 92 (03) 260-267
• 18 Huang L, Wang Y, Zhang L. , et al. Maternal smoking and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring: a meta-analysis. Pediatrics 2018; 141 (01) 2017-2465
• 19 Heidi M, Cheryl M. Language and speech disorders. In: Carey WB, Crocker AC, Coleman WL, Elias ER, Feldman H. , eds. Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics. 4th ed. New York, NY: Saunders; 2009: 717-729
• 20 Gustafsson P, Källén K. Perinatal, maternal, and fetal characteristics of children diagnosed with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder: results from a population-based study utilizing the Swedish Medical Birth Register. Dev Med Child Neurol 2011; 53 (03) 263-268
• 21 Hughes JR, DeLeo AJ, Melyn MA. The electroencephalogram in attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder: emphasis on epileptiform discharges. Epilepsy Behav 2000; 1 (04) 271-277
• 22 Richer LP, Shevell MI, Rosenblatt BR. Epileptiform abnormalities in children with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Pediatr Neurol 2002; 26 (02) 125-129
• 23 Millichap JJ, Stack CV, Millichap JG. Frequency of epileptiform discharges in the sleep-deprived electroencephalogram in children evaluated for attention-deficit disorders. J Child Neurol 2011; 26 (01) 6-11
• 24 Canavese C, Rigardetto R, Viano V. , et al. Are dyslexia and dyscalculia associated with Rolandic epilepsy? A short report on ten Italian patients. Epileptic Disord 2007; 9 (04) 432-436
• 25 Rapin I. Dyscalculia and the calculating brain. Pediatr Neurol 2016; 61: 11-20
• 26 Rutter M, Caspi A, Fergusson D. , et al. Sex differences in developmental reading disability: new findings from 4 epidemiological studies. JAMA 2004; 291 (16) 2007-2012
• 27 Landerl K, Bevan A, Butterworth B. Developmental dyscalculia and basic numerical capacities: a study of 8-9-year-old students. Cognition 2004; 93 (02) 99-125
• 28 Wolff M, Weiskopf N, Serra E, Preissl H, Birbaumer N, Kraegeloh-Mann I. Benign partial epilepsy in childhood: selective cognitive deficits are related to the location of focal spikes determined by combined EEG/MEG. Epilepsia 2005; 46 (10) 1661-1667
• 29 Ashkenazi S, Black JM, Abrams DA, Hoeft F, Menon V. Neurobiological underpinnings of math and reading learning disabilities. J Learn Disabil 2013; 46 (06) 549-569
• 30 McNally MA, Kossoff EH. Incidental rolandic spikes: long-term outcomes and impact of treatment. Epilepsy Behav 2015; 43: 135-138