Fluid Reasoning in Spina Bifida Patients: A Literature Review and Assessment Considerations

Cognitive functions are crucial for everyday functioning, with fluid reasoning, the ability to think logically and solve novel problems without prior knowledge, being particularly important. Fluid reasoning supports learning, performance, decision-making and higher- order cognitive abilities and is mainly supported by frontal and parietal brain regions. Impairment in fluid reasoning can have far-reaching consequences, which vary depending on neurological conditions. Children with Spina Bifida often show structural brain abnormalities that may affect regions supporting fluid reasoning. Studying the neural correlates of fluid reasoning in this population can provide insights into its relationship with brain development. This literature review addresses (1) the relationship between fluid reasoning and brain function and development, and (2) how this relates to children with Spina Bifida. Additionally, this study examines the effect of assessment format (paper-based (WISC-V subtests:...Show moreCognitive functions are crucial for everyday functioning, with fluid reasoning, the ability to think logically and solve novel problems without prior knowledge, being particularly important. Fluid reasoning supports learning, performance, decision-making and higher- order cognitive abilities and is mainly supported by frontal and parietal brain regions. Impairment in fluid reasoning can have far-reaching consequences, which vary depending on neurological conditions. Children with Spina Bifida often show structural brain abnormalities that may affect regions supporting fluid reasoning. Studying the neural correlates of fluid reasoning in this population can provide insights into its relationship with brain development. This literature review addresses (1) the relationship between fluid reasoning and brain function and development, and (2) how this relates to children with Spina Bifida. Additionally, this study examines the effect of assessment format (paper-based (WISC-V subtests: matrix reasoning and figure weights) versus screen-based (matrix reasoning)) on fluid reasoning performance. A correlation analysis was used to examine the performance across formats, and their performances were also compared descriptively. The review indicates that fluid reasoning develops throughout childhood and adolescence and is supported by prefrontal and parietal brain regions. In Spina Bifida, factors such as hydrocephalus, lesion level and other brain abnormalities appear to negatively influence fluid reasoning, likely due to atypical neural development, including reduced white matter integrity, smaller corpus callosum, and abnormal cerebrospinal fluid volumes. Evidence for prefrontal and parietal involvement in Spina Bifida remains limited, but disrupted neural networks likely contribute to reduced fluid reasoning performance. No significant correlation was found between paper- and screen-based tasks, suggesting that the present data does not provide evidence for an association between the two assessment formats, possibly due to the small sample size. However, most participants performed better on paper-based tasks, indicating that task format and response type may still influence fluid reasoning performance.Show less

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Fluid Reasoning in Spina Bifida Patients: A Literature Review and Assessment Considerations