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Brain surgery-behavior link explored

by Dick Peterson
Public Relations
Put yourself in a parent’s place. Your child has a brain tumor, likely malignant. Depending on the disease, treatments involving surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy may follow. 

To Chip Taylor, Ph.D., a College of Health Professions clinical psychologist, the scenario is all too common. Children who endured brain tumor resection to save their lives often come under his care a year or more later, when the effects of the surgery become apparent. 

“Parents often fail to put two and two together,” Taylor said. “They fail to see behavior problems and a drop in academic achievement as a result of the brain surgery.” Taylor is on the front end of an NIH-funded research study aimed at managing the potential neuropsychological late effects that survivors of childhood brain tumors often encounter. 

While studies have been conducted to track the effects of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation on children with brain tumors, his study will investigate the effects on children whose only treatment is surgical resection.

Taylor explained that while the surgical removal of a tumor in the brain increases the probability of survival, it also increases the chance that the trauma of surgery could lead to impaired cognitive processes, attention and intelligence. 

“We begin to see the late effects of the surgery after the first year,” Taylor said. “The first three years are critical. After that, the effects of the insult are somewhat stable.”

Knowing this, Taylor’s research will begin with a baseline psychological evaluation that assesses the child’s achievement, attention capacity, and intelligence before surgery. Understanding the baseline will give the clinician a point to compare and note potential deficits a year later. By knowing which brain processes have been affected by the tumor resection, the clinician can target therapy to improve function in specific areas. 

“Just imagine, it’s a year later and the child returns to school to discover he is struggling on tasks that were once easy for him to complete. Additionally, in contrast to his behavior before the tumor and its treatment, he is having a hard time maintaining attention in the structured classroom setting. How do his parents and his teacher adapt after this insult?” Taylor asked. He said that more often than not teachers do not recognize the medical side of a child’s misbehavior or lack of attention. “We have to educate the parents so they can educate the school.”

To help children who have had brain tumors and their parents, Taylor and an MUSC colleague, Janelle Wagner, clinical psychology intern, have organized a group to provide parents with support and information they need to educate the schools. Through the support group, children  have the opportunity to identify with peers who have been through similar experiences and to learn about healthy coping skills.  The group will resume monthly meetings in September.
 
 
 

Friday, June 11, 2004
Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.