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Inattentive behavior after traumatic brain injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2009

John Whyte
Affiliation:
Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19141 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140
Marcia Polansky
Affiliation:
The Medical College of Pennsylvania, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Christopher Cavallucci
Affiliation:
Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19141
Megan Fleming
Affiliation:
The Medical College of Pennsylvania, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Joanna Lhulier
Affiliation:
Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19141
H. Branch Coslett
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140

Abstract

Clinicians and families report that traumatic brain injury results in a variety of attention deficits. Numerous laboratory studies have documented slowing of information processing, alteration in event-related potentials, or difficulty attending to specific relevant task dimensions in the presence of redundant information. However, little is known about how these information processing abnormalities relate to observable behaviors in daily living or work environments, which presumably form the basis for clinicians’ and families’ reports. We developed a quantitative assessment of behavioral inattentiveness in both quiet and distracting environments, and demonstrated excellent interrater reliability. Using this assessment, we have studied 20 patients with recent traumatic brain injury and 20 demographically comparable control subjects. We have confirmed marked differences in behavioral attentivencss between patients and controls in both distracting and nondistracting environments. (JINS, 1996, 2, 274–281.)

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 1996

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