Commentary: Toward Greater Integration and Specificity in Conceptual Models of Neurocognitive Functioning in Childhood Cancer Survivors

Psychologists have played a significant role in identifying and facilitating understanding of neurocognitive outcomes in children and adolescents surviving cancer. Moore (this issue) provides an excellent overview of the salient medical and demographic predictors of adverse neu- rocognitive impact, while Butler and Mulhern (this issue) describe promising findings from recent pioneering studies aimed at treating cognitive and neurobehavioral side effects. Moore's discussion of past research gains is notable for its integration of a neuropathological per- spective with select findings from animal model studies. Butler and Mulhern's discussion is similarly exceptional for integration of perspectives not commonly elaborated upon in articles on the neurocognitive functioning of childhood cancer survivors. Specifically, they discuss the potential importance of a "psychotherapeutic" compo- nent, along with "family environment" and school-based "ecological interventions" in cognitive remediation inter- vention programs. This expansive rehabilitation model, when viewed with Moore's discussion of neurobiological underpinnings, reflects a movement toward greater con- ceptual integration. This is a trend that we, as early career investigators, hope will increasingly materialize as psychologists continue to study neurocognitive issues in childhood cancer survivors. There are several areas in which we anticipate research to evolve in the next decade.