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Multicenter Study
. 2016 May-Jun;41(4):231-244.
doi: 10.1080/87565641.2016.1238474. Epub 2016 Oct 19.

Working Memory in Children With Neurocognitive Effects From Sickle Cell Disease: Contributions of the Central Executive and Processing Speed

Kelsey E Smith  1 , Jeffrey Schatz  1
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Working Memory in Children With Neurocognitive Effects From Sickle Cell Disease: Contributions of the Central Executive and Processing Speed

Kelsey E Smith et al. Dev Neuropsychol. 2016 May-Jun.

Abstract

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at risk for working memory deficits due to multiple disease processes. We assessed working memory abilities and related functions in 32 school-age children with SCD and 85 matched comparison children using Baddeley's working memory model as a framework. Children with SCD performed worse than controls for working memory, central executive function, and processing/rehearsal speed. Central executive function was found to mediate the relationship between SCD status and working memory, but processing speed did not. Cognitive remediation strategies that focus on central executive processes may be important for remediating working memory deficits in SCD.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Standardized regression coefficients for the potential mediating role of processing speed (panel A) and cognitive control (panel B) deficits in SCD influencing working memory performance. Component variables for the cognitive control factor score with the largest contribution to the mediation effect are shown in panels C and D. Note that although the component paths in panel C were statistically significant, the overall Sobel test was not. *p < .05; **p<.01.
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