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Neurological and Psychosocial Development in Adolescence

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Congenital Heart Disease and Adolescence

Part of the book series: Congenital Heart Disease in Adolescents and Adults ((CHDAA))

Abstract

The last 20 years, knowledge on human brain development has grown exponentially due to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional MRI. At the age of 6, the brain has reached his adult size. From that point on, connections and synapses continue to develop in order to reach a complete network of neuronal pathways. This chapter covers the description of normal brain development in adolescence and its relation to cognitive functioning. We discuss changes in white and gray matter, sex specificity, and changes in cortical thickness. On a functional cognitive level, adolescents with CHD display a high variability, usually below expectation. A high percentage of them need remedial services during their school career. Attention and executive functioning are mostly affected. Visual-spatial problems, difficulty with reading and orthographic skills, and reduced social cognition are also mentioned. Smaller brain volumes and mainly white and gray matter injury in frontoparietal areas, the uncinate fasciculus (UF), and the middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) are highly associated with the experienced cognitive weaknesses. In the second part of this chapter, we look into psychosocial development during adolescence. The life phase of adolescence onto adulthood is characterized by constant change and may especially pose challenges for those afflicted with chronic illness. Although the majority of patients with CHD seem to tackle identity formation issues in a normal way, there is a subgroup significantly at risk for adapting maladjusted identity processes, leaving them vulnerable for constant worrying about where their lives should lead them, psychosocial difficulties, lowered self-esteem, and higher levels of depressive symptoms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuropsychology, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Ghent, De Pintelaan 185 – 1 K 12 IA, Ghent, 9000, Belgium

    Marijke Miatton MSc(Psych), PhD(Medical Science)

  2. Developmental Neuropsychology, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Iemke Sarrechia MSc(Psych), PhD(Medical Science)

Authors
  1. Marijke Miatton MSc(Psych), PhD(Medical Science)
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  2. Iemke Sarrechia MSc(Psych), PhD(Medical Science)
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Correspondence to Marijke Miatton MSc(Psych), PhD(Medical Science) .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Congenital Heart Disease, University Hospital Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland

    Markus Schwerzmann

  2. Center for Congenital Heart Disease, University Hospital Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland

    Corina Thomet

  3. Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium and Institute of Health and Care Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Philip Moons

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Miatton, M., Sarrechia, I. (2016). Neurological and Psychosocial Development in Adolescence. In: Schwerzmann, M., Thomet, C., Moons, P. (eds) Congenital Heart Disease and Adolescence. Congenital Heart Disease in Adolescents and Adults. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31139-5_5

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