LAUSR

Sensory and cognitive deficits are common comorbidities in children with cerebral palsy. This observational study examines if brain processing of affective information is also altered in children with cerebral palsy (CP) in comparison with typically developing peers (TDP). METHODS Evoked-related potentials were recorded in 15 children with CP (age = 11.27 ± 4.53 yr, 6 girls) and 14 TDP (age = 10.14 ± 4.29 yr, 5 girls) when viewing pleasant, unpleasant and neutral pictures. The subjective perception of valence and arousal of each one of the pictures was examined. RESULTS Children with CP showed a significant amplitude reduction of evoked potentials in the occipital region to the affective stimuli in early brain processing latencies (P100 and N200; all F > 2.9, all p < .05). Children with CP rated pictures with affective content (pleasant and unpleasant) as less arousing (F(2.25) = 46.71, p < .001), and neutral pictures as more pleasant, than their TDP (F(2.25) = 75.56, p < .001). CONCLUSION The pictures with emotional content produce less activation, both at the behavioral and brain processing levels in children with CP. These differences were found in early latencies of brain processing which could be related to alterations in the detection of emotionally relevant stimuli.