Clinical Trial: Telerehabilitation of Working Memory in Children With Periventricular Leukomalacia and Bilateral Cerebral Palsy

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional




Official Title: Telerehabilitation of Working Memory in Children With Periventricular Leukomalacia and Bilateral Cerebral Palsy, a Neuropsychological and Electrophysiological (High-densit

Brief Summary:

Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL) is a white matter lesion surrounding the lateral ventricles of the brain occurring in the prenatal period, associated with a disorder of movement and posture, known as bilateral cerebral palsy. Children with PVL and bilateral cerebral palsy have spared verbal abilities, as measured by verbal Intelligence Quotient (verbal IQ) tests, while non-verbal intelligence and especially visuo-perceptual and visuo-spatial abilities are impaired. In addition some studies underline the impact of PVL also on executive function, especially in terms of working memory and in the ability to inhibit distraction.

Working Memory is the ability to retain and manipulate information for brief periods of time. It is important in several complex cognitive functions, such as academic learning and in planning and organizing daily life activities. School-based activities, indeed, such as math and reading depend on a student's ability to pay attention to several instructions or information and to hold and integrate them in their mind.

Recent behavioural and neurofunctional studies describes the effect of an evidence-based and computer-based training on working memory, the Cogmed Working MemoryTraining. Functional MRI show increase in parietal and prefrontal activity after this training, while the behavioural data demonstrate the generalization of this effect also on cognitive functions not directly trained, as attention, inhibition, learning and non-verbal reasoning. Cogmed Working MemoryTraining (RoboMemo®, CogMed-Cognitive Medical Systems, Stockholm, Sweden) is an online treatment comprising a number of visuo-spatial and verbal exercises that vary automatically depending on the individual child's performance in any given task. The training period is intensive and includes 25 home session for five weeks, 30-45 mi