Psychomotor retardation
Key points
- Motormental retardation is described as delayed or decreased development of both mental and motor skills.
- Motormental retardation in children is generally related to significant central nervous system damage or abnormality.
- Home care varies with the cause, type, and severity of retardation.
- The term refers specifically to delayed development of cognitive skills (like speech) and delayed development of motor skills (such as walking).
Alternative names
Delayed motor and mental development; Retardation - motormental; Motormental retardation
Definition
Motormental retardation is described as delayed or decreased development of both mental and motor skills.
Considerations
Motormental retardation in children is generally related to significant central nervous system damage or abnormality. The term refers specifically to delayed development of cognitive skills (like speech) and delayed development of motor skills (such as walking).
There can be various degrees of mental retardation, which include failure to meet certain normal developmental milestones.
Infants can be born with conditions that cause mental retardation and delayed or absent motor development. Motormental retardation may also develop AFTER birth with deterioration of both mental and motor function related to disease or accident.
Common Causes
BEFORE BIRTH causes include:
- asphyxia (insufficient oxygen before or during birth)
- cerebral hemorrhage
- congenital rubella syndrome
- congenital toxoplasmosis
- chromosomal abnormalities (excessive numbers or reduced numbers), such as trisomy 13, trisomy 18, trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)
- abnormalities of the chromosome (with normal number of chromosomes), such as Fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Angelman syndrome
- Fetal alcohol syndrome
INFANCY/CHILDHOOD causes include:
- infection - meningitis and/or encephalitis (Organisms can include virus, bacteria, or parasites. Some infectious agents include: HIV infection, Herpes Simplex virus, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, listeria, H. influenza)
- traumatic - head injury, shaken-baby syndrome, asphyxia (such as near drowning)
- non-genetic metabolic disorders - kernicterus, hypoglycemia, Reye's syndrome, congenital hypothyroidism (untreated)
- genetic metabolic disorders - phenylketonuria (if untreated), histidinemia
- intraventricular hemorrhage (as seen in very premature infants)
- other heritable disorders - Tay-Sachs disease, Aicardi syndrome, Niemann-Pick disease.
- environmental or toxins - lead poisoning, methyl mercury exposure (Minamata disease)
Written and revised by
Andrey Nailor, M.D.
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