Learning and memory profiles in youth with perinatal stroke: a study of the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile (ChAMP)

ABSTRACT

There is limited understanding of the effect of perinatal stroke on child and adolescent learning and memory abilities. This study sought to evaluate the clinical utility of the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile (ChAMP) in quantifying memory performance in youth with perinatal stroke. Children and adolescents aged 6–16 years old with a history of perinatal stroke (PS; n = 41) completed two subtests from the ChAMP (Lists and Objects). Age, sex, and ethnicity-matched healthy control (HC) data were obtained from the test publisher’s standardization data set. Participants with a history of PS performed significantly worse (p < .05) with medium effect size (ƞ_p² ≥ .06) than HC on the ChAMP Screening Index and on all ChAMP Lists and Objects scaled scores. Classification accuracy for the ChAMP scores ranged from 57% to 68% with the area under the curve ranging from .62-.75. No significant group differences on ChAMP performance (p > .05) were found for stroke side (left versus right-sided) or for seizure history (present versus absent). This study supports the utility of the ChAMP in perinatal stroke patients by demonstrating significantly worse performance in verbal and visual memory than HC. Classification accuracy is limited, but supportive for the Screening Index and Objects Delayed scores. The ChAMP may be a useful tool for evaluating cognition in this population when taken alongside the context of other tests, background history, and clinical observations.

KEYWORDS:

• Memory
• learning
• perinatal
• stroke
• cognitive

Acknowledgments

Brian Brooks acknowledges partial salary funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Embedded Clinician Researcher Salary Award.

Disclosure statement

Brian Brooks is a co-author of the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile (ChAMP; Sherman & Brooks, 2015, PAR Inc.) used in this study and receives royalties for the sale of this test. Additionally, he is a co-author of the Memory Validity Profile (MVP; Sherman & Brooks, 2015, PAR Inc.), and the Multidimensional Everyday Memory Ratings for Youth (MEMRY, Sherman and Brooks, 2017, PAR Inc.). He is co-editor of the Pediatric Forensic Neuropsychology textbook (2012, Oxford University Press) and receives royalties for the sales of this book. No other authors have any disclosures to declare.

Additional information

Funding

The centralized digital storage system for data collected in Calgary, Alberta, was supported by funding from the Kinsmen Chair of Pediatric Neurosciences, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI) Neurotrauma Fund, and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Neurosciences Program. Data collection from Edmonton, Alberta, was funded by the Women’s and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI). The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation provided funding for registering participants in the Northern Alberta portion of the Alberta Perinatal Stroke Program.