MedTrace Logo

Impact of General Anesthesia in Childhood on Cognitive Processes

NCT07141797 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 80

Last updated 2026-01-14

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study aims to evaluate the potential long-term cognitive effects of general anesthesia administered before the age of 4. Specifically, it investigates executive functions-including inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility-in children aged 9 to 10 years. A secondary objective assesses visuo-spatial attention.

Participants will be divided into two groups: (1) children exposed to a single general anesthesia for functional surgery before age 4, and (2) a control group with no such exposure. Cognitive performance will be assessed through computerized tasks with time constraints, conducted in a school setting. The study is designed to compare these groups prospectively in order to determine whether early exposure to general anesthesia is associated with differences in cognitive functioning at school age.

Conditions

  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Child Behavior Disorders

Interventions

OTHER

Executive functions assessment

Inhibition: Emotional (hot) and logical (cold) inhibition using Emotional and Classic Stroop tests. Participants identify the color of words or emotion in photos while inhibiting automatic responses. Inhibition scores are based on the difference in response times between congruent and interference conditions. Working Memory: Participants recall a sequence of points on a grid, first in the original order, then in reverse. The working memory score is the difference between the two tasks. Cognitive Flexibility: A task requiring alternation between identifying numbers as greater/less than 5 or even/odd based on color cues. Flexibility is scored by comparing response times for alternating and non-alternating tasks. Visuospatial abilities are assessed with a global-local task. Raven's Progressive Matrices will assess general intelligence, and socio-economic data will be collected.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University Hospital, Caen

    lead OTHER

Eligibility

Min Age
8 Years
Max Age
10 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-03-01
Primary Completion
2025-03-01
Completion
2025-11-01

Countries

  • France

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07141797 on ClinicalTrials.gov