Changes in a sensorimotor network, occipital network, and psychomotor speed within three months after focal surgical injury in pediatric patients with intracranial space-occupying lesions

BACKGROUND: Studies on cognition and brain networks after various forms of brain injury mainly involve traumatic brain injury, neurological disease, tumours, and mental disease. There are few related studies on surgical injury and even fewer pediatric studies. This study aimed to preliminarily explore the cognitive and brain network changes in children with focal, unilateral, well-bounded intracranial space-occupying lesions (ISOLs) in the short term period after surgery. METHODS: We enrolled 15 patients (6–14 years old) with ISOLs admitted to the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery of the Beijing Tiantan Hospital between July 2020 and August 2021. Cognitive assessment and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) were performed. Regional homogeneity (Reho), seed-based analysis (SBA) and graph theory analysis (GTA) were performed. Paired T-test was used for statistical analysis of cognitive assessment and rs-fMRI. Gaussian random-field theory correction (voxel p-value < 0.001, cluster p-value < 0.05) was used for Reho and SBA. False discovery rate correction (corrected p value < 0.05) for GTA. RESULTS: Our results showed that psychomotor speed decreased within three months after surgery. Further, rs-fMRI data analysis suggested that sensorimotor and occipital network activation decreased with low information transmission efficiency. CONCLUSION: We prudently concluded that the changes in cognitive function and brain network within three months after surgery may be similar to ageing and that the brain is vulnerable during this period. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-022-03348-5.