Cognitive factors underpinning poor expressive communication skills after traumatic brain injury: Theory of mind or executive function?

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 801-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Skye McDonald ◽  
Alison Gowland ◽  
Rebekah Randall ◽  
Alana Fisher ◽  
Katie Osborne-Crowley ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 1285-1295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen R Hoskinson ◽  
Erin D Bigler ◽  
Tracy J Abildskov ◽  
Maureen Dennis ◽  
H Gerry Taylor ◽  
...  

Abstract Childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects over 600 000 children per year in the United States. Following TBI, children are vulnerable to deficits in psychosocial adjustment and neurocognition, including social cognition, which persist long-term. They are also susceptible to direct and secondary damage to related brain networks. In this study, we examine whether brain morphometry of the mentalizing network (MN) and theory of mind (ToM; one component of social cognition) mediates the effects of TBI on adjustment. Children with severe TBI (n = 15, Mage = 10.32), complicated mild/moderate TBI (n = 30, Mage = 10.81) and orthopedic injury (OI; n = 42, Mage = 10.65) completed measures of ToM and executive function and underwent MRI; parents rated children’s psychosocial adjustment. Children with severe TBI demonstrated reduced right-hemisphere MN volume, and poorer ToM, vs children with OI. Ordinary least-squares path analysis indicated that right-hemisphere MN volume and ToM mediated the association between severe TBI and adjustment. Parallel analyses substituting the central executive network and executive function were not significant, suggesting some model specificity. Children at greatest risk of poor adjustment after TBI could be identified based in part on neuroimaging of social brain networks and assessment of social cognition and thereby more effectively allocate limited intervention resources.


2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Cartoni ◽  
Maria de Martino ◽  
Silvia Mignani ◽  
Enrico Castelli

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Susan Cho ◽  
McKay Moore Sohlberg

There is no research on the assessment or treatment of help-seeking behaviours for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This paper describes the development of a protocol, NICE (Noticing you have a problem, Identifying the information you need for help, Compensatory strategies, Evaluating progress) to train help-seeking for adults with TBI when lost. Theoretical and treatment components from three empirically validated interventions that target social problem-solving and communication skills were adapted to develop NICE: the Group Interactive Structured Treatment for Social Competence (GIST), the Problem Solving Group Protocol (PSG) and Interpersonal Recall (IPR). Preliminary pilot data evaluating the efficacy are presented for three adult persons with TBI. All three participants improved on the Executive Function Route Finding Task (EFRT) and help-seeking behaviours when wayfinding. Help-seeking is a constitutive factor in the wayfinding process capable of improvement. Preliminary evidence supports further investigation of this group intervention.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 529-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel C. Araujo ◽  
Tanya N. Antonini ◽  
Vicki Anderson ◽  
Kathryn A. Vannatta ◽  
Christina G. Salley ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectives:This study examined whether children with distinct brain disorders show different profiles of strengths and weaknesses in executive functions, and differ from children without brain disorder.Methods:Participants were children with traumatic brain injury (N=82; 8–13 years of age), arterial ischemic stroke (N=36; 6–16 years of age), and brain tumor (N=74; 9–18 years of age), each with a corresponding matched comparison group consisting of children with orthopedic injury (N=61), asthma (N=15), and classmates without medical illness (N=68), respectively. Shifting, inhibition, and working memory were assessed, respectively, using three Test of Everyday Attention: Children’s Version (TEA-Ch) subtests: Creature Counting, Walk-Don’t-Walk, and Code Transmission. Comparison groups did not differ in TEA-Ch performance and were merged into a single control group. Profile analysis was used to examine group differences in TEA-Ch subtest scaled scores after controlling for maternal education and age.Results:As a whole, children with brain disorder performed more poorly than controls on measures of executive function. Relative to controls, the three brain injury groups showed significantly different profiles of executive functions. Importantly, post hoc tests revealed that performance on TEA-Ch subtests differed among the brain disorder groups.Conclusions:Results suggest that different childhood brain disorders result in distinct patterns of executive function deficits that differ from children without brain disorder. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed. (JINS, 2017,23, 529–538)


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