Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Brain lesions can produce considerable cognitive deficits, and in youth it can result in impaired daily functioning and a reduction in quality of life. Despite this knowledge, youth who have experienced stroke have not been adequately studied. Childhood is a particularly vulnerable time to sustain brain injury given that the young brain is still actively maturing and cognitive abilities are in a state of ongoing development. This research project aims to investigate the effects of pediatric stroke on children's problem solving skills, which will be defined as the ability to switch attention between different stimuli, inhibit a behavioural response, work with information in memory, and plan ahead. Injury to multiple regions of the childhood brain can impair these specific skills. Moreover, problem solving deficits could have cascading effects onto important life domains, including reduced social-emotional competence. Accordingly, stroke survivors will be assessed for behavioural issues, emotional distress, and adaptive daily functioning. Importantly, the project will explore how cognitive functioning is impacted by the location of stroke in the brain and the age at which stroke was sustained during development. To this end, a comprehensive review of MRI neuroimaging data will be undertaken. By elucidating the neural and developmental features that characterize poorest post-stroke outcomes, the current research will aim to direct and optimize the application of cognitive intervention programs in the pediatric stroke population.