Cognitive reserve in paediatric traumatic brain injury: Relationship with neuropsychological outcome

Abstract

Although past research has found that verbal ability is a valid indicator of CR in adult populations, the present study found evidence against the validity of this traditional reserve proxy when applied to the paediatric population. These findings suggest one of two conclusions: (1) measures used to indicate CR in adult populations (word reading, vocabulary) are not valid indicators of cognitive reserve in paediatric populations; and/or (2) the measures themselves are valid, yet there is simply not a significant relationship between cognitive reserve and short-term (i.e. less than 6 months) neuropsychological outcome in paediatric TBI.