Citation

Brenner LA, Terrio H, Homaifar BY, Gutierrez PM, Staves PJ, Harwood JE, Reeves D, Adler LE, Ivins BJ, Helmick K, Warden D. Neuropsychology 2010; 24(2): 160-167.

Affiliation

VA VISN 19 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/a0017966

PMID

20230110

Abstract

This exploratory study was conducted to increase understanding of neuropsychological test performance in those with blast-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The two variables of interest for their impact on test performance were presence of mTBI symptoms and history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Forty-five soldiers postblast mTBI, 27 with enduring mTBI symptoms and 18 without, completed a series of neuropsychological tests. Seventeen of the 45 met criteria for PTSD. The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (Frencham, Fox, & Mayberry, 2005; Spreen & Strauss, 1998) was the primary outcome measure. Two-sided, 2-sample t tests were used to compare scores between groups of interest. Presence of mTBI symptoms did not impact test performance. In addition, no significant differences between soldiers with and without PTSD were identified. Standard neuropsychological assessment may not increase understanding about impairment associated with mTBI symptoms. Further research in this area is indicated.

Language: en