Relationships between quality of life and intellectual or emotional abilities depending on brain tumor localization

Abstract

Recently we found that patients with brain tumour were characterized by positive relations between the components of IQ and health-related quality of life (QL) in patients with brain tumours at preoperative period. The present study was undertaken to determine a role of tumor’s localization in relationships not only between IQ and QL but also between neuroticism (N, the personal trait of emotional stability in behavior) and QL. To study plasticity of functional neuronal networks relating human adaptability we analysed the relationships between scales and IQ or N in patients with brain tumours (n=40) vs. control subjects (n=39). The localization of the tumours in frontal or parietal regions of the left and right hemispheres was determined according to MRT. The obtained patterns of significant correlations between psychological and health status characteristics indicated that patients with the left frontal damage of brain were characterized maximal changes in psychic functions vs. control group whereas minimal changes were found in the group with the right parietal localization of tumours. In these last described two groups the QL scores correlated negatively with N and positively with IQ. The patients with the right frontal damage of brain were characterized by negative relation between IQ and ‘Role of interactions due to physical problem’ of the SF-36. The variable relationships between IQ, N, and SF-36 scores can be ascribed to flexible strategies of potential adaptability in individuals with brain damage due to compensatory reconstructions in neuronal systems depending on tumour localization.