Executive Functions, Pragmatic Skills, and Mental Health in Children With Congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection With Cochlear Implants: A Pilot Study
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Summary
This pilot study investigates executive functions (EF), pragmatic skills, and mental health in children with congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection who use cochlear implants (CI). The research was motivated by prior clinical observations suggesting that children with cCMV exhibit greater executive functioning difficulties than those with genetic deafness, alongside high rates of comorbidities such as balance disorders and autism spectrum disorder. The study aimed to determine if cCMV infection specifically impacts these cognitive and social domains compared to matched controls with Connexin 26 (Cx26) mutations, and to explore relationships with early language outcomes. The study employed a multidisciplinary approach involving 17 participants: 10 children with cCMV and CI and 7 controls with Cx26 mutations and CI. Participants were matched for age, sex, hearing status, non-verbal cognitive ability, vocabulary, and socioeconomic status. Executive functioning was assessed using formal tests for working memory and attention (TEA-Ch and SIPS batteries), parent and teacher questionnaires (BRIEF), and systematic observations by a blinded psychologist. Pragmatic skills and mental health were evaluated via parent and teacher reports. Non-parametric correlation analyses examined associations between early language outcomes and later EF, pragmatics, and mental health. Results indicated that children with cCMV had statistically significantly worse pragmatic outcomes and phonological working memory compared to the Cx26 control group, despite similar non-verbal cognitive abilities and vocabulary levels. However, no significant differences were found between the groups regarding general executive functioning skills in everyday settings or mental health status. The analysis revealed associations between early language outcomes and later executive functioning skills and pragmatics across the entire sample. The findings suggest that children with cCMV infection are at specific risk for learning difficulties in school due to deficits in phonological working memory and pragmatic skills, which may hinder social interactions. While general executive functioning and mental health did not differ significantly from controls with genetic deafness, the specific impairments in phonological memory and pragmatics highlight the need for targeted support in these areas for children with cCMV. The study underscores the importance of considering the etiology of deafness when assessing cognitive and social development in children with cochlear implants.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | Crossref | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| archive | success | canonical_url | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-26 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| enrich | success | openalex | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-20 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.
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