Cerebral Visual Disturbance in Infantile Encephalopathy

The diagnosis and treatment of children suffering from infantile encephalopathy is part of daily childneurological practice. Over the past years, a considerable amount of knowledge has been accumul ated on motor and mental handicaps, orthopaedic corrections, rehabilitation, measurements, etc. Less attention has, however, been paid to the perceptual deficits in children suffering from infantile encephalopathy, e.g. visual and hearing loss. It is likely that such deficits may have a negative effect on development. As these children are often also mentally retarded, perceptual deficits may be difficult to diagnose. Expanding the available knowledge on these deficits may facilitate their (early) diagnosis. Assessment of diagnosis enables adaption of developmental stimulation which may ultimate contribute to a higher developmental level. This study deals with the visual problems of children suffering from infantile encephalopathy. In particular, a study has been made of visual impairment due to dysfunction of the central visual system (from optic chiasm to striate cortex). The childneurological aspects of this handicap were investigated in detail in coopera tion with Prof. Dr. J. Willemse (Department of Childneurology, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands), resulting in an identifiable clinical picture. The application of neuro-imaging techniques (computer tomography, mag netic resonance imaging) enables the assessment of characteristic morphological abnormalities of the central visual system.