Interventions With an Impact on Cognitive Functions in Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review
Neuropsychology Review
Blasco, M., García-Galant, M., et al. (2023).
Neuropsychology Review, 33(2), 551-577.
This systematic review investigates the effects of non-invasive, non-pharmacological interventions on cognitive functioning in children and adults with cerebral palsy. This summary highlights conclusions within the scope of speech-language pathology.
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain); Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca from Generalitat de Catalunya (Spain); Universitat de Barcelona (Spain)
January 2010 to December 2021
Original, published, English- or Spanish-language studies (not further specified)
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<div>For individuals with cerebral palsy, cognitive interventions (e.g., CogMed working memory training; Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance; home-based videogames; and memory, attention, executive function, and visual perception training) demonstrated significant effects on visual perception (medium effect size), working memory (small effect size), and inhibitory control (small effect size). Studies also reported associations with visual perception, social cognition, planning, and reasoning. Cognitive interventions showed no significant association with general executive function. Due to the limited number of high-quality studies and the heterogeneity of study methodologies, the authors caution interpretation of these conclusions. Additional research is warranted.</div>
<div>For individuals with cerebral palsy, studies investigating the effect of AAC interventions on cognitive function showed better performance in general cognitive functioning, memory, and inhibitory control after 8 weeks of AAC-based intervention; however, AAC demonstrated no association with language abilities after 12 weeks of AAC-based intervention. The authors note that AAC studies focused on motor aspects related to language and failed to report effects on cognitive functioning. Additional research is warranted as limitations included overall paucity of evidence and small sample size.</div>
