@article{ref1,
title="Investigating the effect of fatigue and psychological distress on information processing speed in the postacute period after mild traumatic brain injury in  premorbidly healthy adults",
journal="Archives of clinical neuropsychology",
year="2021",
author="Cockle, Emily and Anderson, Jacqueline F. I.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="Impairments in processing speed under conditions of increasing cognitive load have been reported in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). In other  conditions that are also associated with white matter disruption, both psychological  distress and fatigue have been shown to underlie this impairment. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: the  current study aimed to investigate whether slowing of processing abilities under  conditions of greater cognitive load is independent of fatigue and psychological  status in premorbidly healthy individuals with subacute mTBI. <br><br>METHOD: using a  prospective observational design, we examined 84 individuals with mTBI approximately  8 weeks after injury and 47 healthy control (HC) participants. They were assessed  with the Symbol Digit Modality Test, an n-back task and a rate of gain of  information choice reaction time task that conforms to Hick's law. Participants were  also assessed with measures of fatigue and psychological status. <br><br>RESULTS: as  expected, findings revealed no group differences on simple reaction time tasks, but  as task complexity increased, the mTBI group performed more slowly than the HC  group. This group difference occurred independently of fatigue and psychological  distress levels and was associated with a moderate effect size. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: during  the subacute period after mTBI, premorbidly healthy individuals demonstrate  impairment in their ability to rapidly process information as the cognitive load of  the task increases beyond simple reaction time requirements. Examination of whether  these changes affect resumption of premorbid roles is warranted.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0887-6177",
doi="10.1093/arclin/acaa123",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acaa123"
}