Naslov
Attention and short-term memory in patients with mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries

Autori
Malojčić, Branko ; Mubrin, Zdenko ; Spilich, George ; Šušnić, Marija

Izvornik
European Journal of Neurology (1351-5101) 9 (2002), Supplement 2;

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, kongresno priopcenje, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
attention; short-term memory; traumatic brain injury

Sažetak
Introduction: Mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries (TBI) represent 75% of head injuries. Long lasting symptoms are reported in 14 to 88% of such patients. Since imaging techniques, EEG, and neurological examination reveal no signs of cerebral damage, there are controversies about the existence of cognitive deficits in such patients. Method: We developed computorised tests for visual attention and short-term memory assesment. We compared the results of 37 patients with TBI and 57 controls. Results: Our results show that the registration of correct answers is not sensitive enough to discover cognitive deficits in TBI patients, but significant difference is found in results of recognition reaction time (p<0.05) measured with Sternberg Memory Scanning Paradigm and time of reaction to visual stimulus (p=0.0348) measured with Choice Reaction Time Task. Conclusion: We showed that it is possible to measure the reduced efficiency of TBI patients in performing the same task as controls. This can be an objective measure of mental slownwss that TBI patients often report.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Kliničke medicinske znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA