Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists
-
Arch Clin Neuropsychol · Nov 2008
Effects of day-of-injury alcohol intoxication on neuropsychological outcome in the acute recovery period following traumatic brain injury.
Some researchers have found that day-of-injury alcohol intoxication is associated with worse outcome following traumatic brain injury (TBI). The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of day-of-injury intoxication on the acute neuropsychological outcome from TBI. Participants were 36 patients with TBI (18 sober, 18 intoxicated) matched on injury severity characteristics and demographic variables. ⋯ Patients had no history of pre-injury alcoholism and were assessed within 10 days post-injury on 13 cognitive measures. Unexpectedly, patients who were sober at the time of injury performed lower on many of the cognitive measures compared to those who were intoxicated. In contrast to the research literature, these results suggest that individuals who were intoxicated at the time of injury performed similarly, and in some cases, better than those who were sober at the time of injury.
-
Arch Clin Neuropsychol · Sep 2008
Biopsychosocial characteristics and neurocognitive test performance in National Football League players: an initial assessment.
The use of neurocognitive testing in the assessment of professional athletes sustaining sports-related concussions has become widespread over the past decade. Baseline neurocognitive testing is now a requirement for athletes in the National Football League (NFL). We present preliminary normative data on a computer based neurocognitive test (Immediate Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing; ImPACT) for 159 NFL athletes. Also included are summary data on basic biopsychosocial characteristics, including medical, psychiatric, chemical dependency, concussion, learning disability/attention deficit disorder, and symptom variables, and the relevance of each to baseline neurocognitive test scores.
-
Arch Clin Neuropsychol · Nov 2007
Language of administration and neuropsychological test performance in neurologically intact Hispanic American bilingual adults.
This study compared the performance of Hispanic American bilingual adults on Spanish and English language versions of a neuropsychological test battery. Language achievement test scores were used to divide 36 bilingual, neurologically intact, Hispanic Americans from south Texas into Spanish-dominant, balanced, and English-dominant bilingual groups. They were administered the eight subtests of the Bateria Neuropsicologica and the Matrix Reasoning subtest of the WAIS-III in Spanish and English. ⋯ Scores on tests with higher visual-perceptual weighting (Matrix Reasoning, Figure Memory, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Spatial Span), were not significantly affected by language of administration, nor were scores on the Spanish/California Verbal Learning Test, and Digit Span. A problem was encountered in comparing false positive rates in each language, as Spanish norms fell below English norms, resulting in a much higher false positive rate in English across all bilingual groupings. Use of a comparison standard (picture vocabulary score) reduced false positive rates in both languages, but the higher false positive rate in English persisted.
-
Arch Clin Neuropsychol · Aug 2007
The neurocognitive effects of 5 day anesthetic ketamine for the treatment of refractory complex regional pain syndrome.
Complex regional pain syndrome I (CRPS) is characterized by severe neuropathic pain that exceeds the severity of an injury and is refractory to traditional treatments. Recent experimental interventions include ketamine infusion therapy. ⋯ Findings suggest that, at least at a 6-week follow up: (1) deep ketamine therapy is effective for relief of pain CRPS I and (2) there were no adverse cognitive effects of extended treatment with deep ketamine infusion. No definitive conclusions could be drawn about the relationship between mood and personality factors and the presence of CRPS I.
-
Arch Clin Neuropsychol · Jun 2007
Neurocognitive and neuroimaging correlates of pediatric traumatic brain injury: a diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study.
This study examined the sensitivity of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to microstructural white matter (WM) damage in mild and moderate pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). Fourteen children with TBI and 14 controls ages 10-18 had DTI scans and neurocognitive evaluations at 6-12 months post-injury. Groups did not differ in intelligence, but children with TBI showed slower processing speed, working memory and executive deficits, and greater behavioral dysregulation. ⋯ Behavior ratings showed correlations with supracallosal FA. Parent-reported executive deficits were inversely correlated with FA. Results suggest that DTI measures are sensitive to long-term WM changes and associated with cognitive functioning following pediatric TBI.