Visual and cognitive assessment of children in the first three years of life that were affected by bilateral congenital cataracts

• Grant number: 13/05942-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2013
• End date: March 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Fernandes da Costa
• Grantee: Valtenice de Cássia Rodrigues de Matos França
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psicologia (IP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/26818-2 - Development and implementation of visual evaluation methods: clinical applications and animal models, AP.TEM

Abstract

This project aims to investigate the potential existence of visual, cognitive and behavioral deficits in children who have had bilateral congenital cataracts, and to evaluate correlations between the thresholds of two main visual functions for perception of form (i.e., visual acuity and Vernier acuity) with children's cognitive development and adaptive behavior. A total of 25 children from 2 to 24 months of age will be evaluated after surgery for bilateral cataracts (experimental group) and 25 age-matched children with normal visual development will be evaluated as a control group. Children with neurological or systemic conditions based on clinical examination will be excluded. Children whose visual acuity is found to be below the population norms will be excluded from the control group. Children's grating acuity and Vernier acuity will be evaluated using the Sweep Visual Evoked Potential. The assessment of cognitive development and adaptive behavior will be done using two of the five Bayley III Scales of Infant and Toddler Development: the Cognitive and Adaptive Behavior subtests. The evaluations will be completed in three sessions. In the first session, parents or caregivers will be interviewed, and the adaptive Behavior Scale will be administered to the participants. In addition, the children's visual acuity and Vernier acuity will be measured. The Cognitive Scale will be completed in the second session. Finally, parents or caregivers will be interviewed and told the results of the tests in the third and last session. Data analysis will be performed using raw data obtained from Bayley III results and the visual acuity and Vernier acuity thresholds. The analysis will be done using Statistica, version 6.0, and appropriate statistical tests will be selected according to distribution of the data.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LIMA, DIEGO DA SILVA; PORTNOI BARAN, LUIZ CLAUDIO; HAMER, RUSSELL DAVID; DA COSTA, MARCELO FERNANDES; VIDAL, KALLENE SUMMER; DAMICO, FRANCISCO MAX; SALGUEIRO BARBONI, MIRELLA TELLES; RODRIGUES DE MATOS FRANCA, VALTENICE DE CASSIA; GOMES MARTINS, CRISTIANE MARIA; TABARES, HEYDI SEGUNDO; et al. Longitudinal visual acuity development in ZIKV-exposed children. JOURNAL OF AAPOS, v. 24, n. 1, FEB 2020. (14/26818-2, 16/22007-5, 16/14793-0, 13/05942-4, 16/24631-8, 17/16948-4)