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Studies of animals suggest that changes in behavior are concomitant with early administration of hormones in abnormal quantities and types, and that these changes in behavior reflect actual changes in the structure of the central nervous system. Previous psychological studies of individuals with abnormal hormone makeup also have indicated that hormones might have an effect on mental as well as physical function. In order to assess the extent to which any brain changes might be reflected in mental functioning as revealed by scores on psychoeducational tests, the cognitive behavior of children with hormone abnormalities was examined. It was hypothesized that these children would reveal particularized patterns of function comparable to those found in children with specific learning disabilities. Thirty children between the ages of 3 and 15 under medical treatment for male pseudohermaphroditism and the adrenogenital syndrome (males and females) were tested on a variety of measures found useful in differentiating children with learning disabilities. Matched controls were included in the study. The findings suggest that the contention of earlier researchers that increased androgens act to elevate overall intellectual functioning is unwarranted at this time. Boys with the adrenogenital syndrome performed the same as their normal controls in all aspects of cognitive function. In contrast, girls with the adrenogenital syndrome differed from their controls and from the normal girls in their ability to do particular tasks. The male pseudohermaphrodites, reared as girls, demonstrated intellective function similar to their normal female controls on most measures, but performed significantly poorer than their male controls on various nonverbal measures. They showed significantly higher verbal than nonverbal ability, as has been reported in earlier literature. From these findings it was inferred that abnormal hormone function may influence specific mental processes, and that these influences may be related to the sensitivity of the brain to androgens. However, the effects on central nervous system processes seem to be highly specific and far more subtle than those affecting children of a learning disability population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neurological learning disability syndrome has become well-defined, however, its etiology is far from understood. Probably, there is no one etiology for this syndrome; there are several ways in which nervous system functioning can be altered to produce these findings. But clinical findings in children with the neurological learning disability syndrome are too consistent and too similar from child to child to accept the popular concept that random trauma or embarrassment occurring at various times during the fetal or post-delivery maturation of the central nervous system produced the syndrome. Neurochemical, pharmacological, physiological, and clinical data are presented in an effort to support the view that a neurohumoral imbalance might be the etiologic factor in one group of children with the neurological learning disability syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While we tend to agree that learning disabilities include neurological factors, we do not understand the relationships of these symptoms to different socio-economic groups, nor to various nutrition components. The result is a neglect of low-income children who demonstrate the symptoms of learning disabilities but have symptoms confounding the diagnosis. Similar materials, however, produce desired results both for advantaged and disadvantaged children regardless of the source of the learning disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]