Contextual Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury on the Connectome: Differential Effects of Deployment- and Non-Deployment-Acquired Injuries.

Objective: To identify differential effects of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurring in a deployment or nondeployment setting on the functional brain connectome.

Setting: Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Participants: In total, 181 combat-exposed veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ( n = 74 with deployment-related mild TBI, average time since injury = 11.

Factors associated with recovery from posttraumatic stress disorder in combat veterans: The role of deployment mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Objective: Examine factors associated with recovery from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and evaluate the role of deployment mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in the relationship between PTSD recovery and functional outcomes.

Method: Post 9/11 combat veterans with lifetime history of PTSD ( = 124, 84.7% male) completed the Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury (MMA-TBI), Salisbury Blast Interview (SBI), Clinician Administered PTSD scale (CAPS-5), cognitive assessment battery, and measures of depression, PTSD symptoms, neurobehavioral symptoms, sleep quality, pain interference, and quality of life.

Internalizing and externalizing comorbidity and symptom burden in a VA ADHD specialty evaluation clinic.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate psychiatric diagnosis and symptom comorbidity in veterans diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Study design was retrospective chart review from an ADHD evaluation clinic at a Veterans Affairs hospital. Participants were 227 military veterans who completed a standardized ADHD assessment and produced valid Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) profiles.

Alterations in the Topology of Functional Connectomes Are Associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Blast-Related Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Combat Veterans.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common condition in post-deployment service members (SM). SMs of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan also frequently experience traumatic brain injury (TBI) and exposure to blasts during deployments. This study evaluated the effect of these conditions and experiences on functional brain connectomes in post-deployment, combat-exposed veterans.

Self-reported neurobehavioral symptoms in combat veterans: An examination of NSI with mBIAS symptom validity scales and potential effects of psychological distress.

This study evaluated symptom validity scales from the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) and mild Brain Injury Atypical Symptom Scale (mBIAS) in a sample of 338 combat veterans. Classification statistics were computed using the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS) as the validity criterion. Symptom distress was assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist-5.

Performance validity and symptom validity tests: Are they measuring different constructs?

Objective: To evaluate the relationships among performance validity, symptom validity, symptom self-report, and objective cognitive testing.

Method: Combat Veterans ( = 338) completed a neurocognitive assessment battery and several self-report symptom measures assessing depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, sleep quality, pain interference, and neurobehavioral complaints. All participants also completed two performance validity tests (PVTs) and one stand-alone symptom validity test (SVT) along with two embedded SVTs.

Research Letter: Blast Exposure and Brain Volume.

Objective: To determine whether blast exposure is associated with brain volume beyond posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis and history of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Setting: Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Participants: One hundred sixty-three Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans, 86.

Sleep moderates symptom experience in combat veterans.

Background: Though sleep disturbance has shown to negatively affect outcomes related to post-deployment conditions, it is unclear whether and how sleep disturbance affects mental health symptoms beyond these conditions. We evaluated the independent and moderating effects of sleep quality on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive, and neurobehavioral symptoms beyond mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and PTSD diagnosis.

Methods: Participants were 274 US combat veterans who deployed after 9/11.

Differential effects of deployment and nondeployment mild TBI on neuropsychological outcomes.

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) that occurs in a deployment environment is characteristically different from mild TBI that occurs outside of deployment. This study evaluated differential and interaction effects of deployment and nondeployment mild TBI on cognitive and behavioral health outcomes. Research Combat veterans ( = 293) who passed performance-validity measures completed the Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Assessment of TBI (MMA-TBI), Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Scale (CAPS-5), a neuropsychological assessment battery, and self-report questionnaires.

Test of Premorbid Functioning: You're Doing It Wrong, but Does It Matter?

Objective: Clarify procedures to correctly score Test of Premorbid Functioning (TOPF) and assess the accuracy of TOPF scores in the estimation of premorbid intellectual functioning.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, post-9/11 veterans (N = 233, 84.12% male) completed the TOPF, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV), and performance validity measures.

Pain interference and quality of life in combat veterans: Examining the roles of posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and sleep quality.

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the associations among posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), sleep quality, pain interference, and quality of life in combat veterans.

Method: Veterans ( = 289, 86.51% male) completed the Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury, the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for , and measures of sleep quality, pain interference, and quality of life.

Initial Validation of the Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury.

With the increasing prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI), the need for reliable and valid methods to evaluate TBI has also increased. The purpose of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of a new comprehensive assessment of TBI, the Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) Assessment of TBI (MMA-TBI). The participants in this study were post-deployment, combat exposed veterans.

Brain Volume in Veterans: Relationship to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: Clarify associations between diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and deployment traumatic brain injury (TBI) on salient regional brain volumes in returning combat veterans.

Participants: Iraq and Afghanistan era combat veterans, N = 163, 86.5% male.

Sequelae of Blast Events in Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans using the Salisbury Blast Interview: A CENC Study.

: To comprehensively characterize blast exposure across the lifespan and relationship to TBI.: Post-deployment veterans and service members ( = 287).: Prospective cohort recruitment.

Effects of Distraction on Performance Validity: A Pilot Study with Veterans.

Objective: The purpose of this experimental pilot study was to evaluate whether distraction can affect results of performance validity testing.

Method: Thirty-three veterans who have served in the US military since 09/11/2001 (Mage = 38.60, SD = 10.

Digit Span embedded validity indicators in neurologically-intact veterans.

Embedded validity measures are useful in neuropsychological evaluations but should be updated with new test versions and validated across various samples. This study evaluated Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th edition (WAIS-IV) Digit Span validity indicators in post-deployment veterans. Neurologically-intact veterans completed structured diagnostic interviews, the WAIS-IV, the Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT), and the b Test as part of a larger study.

Distress Tolerance and Symptom Severity as Mediators of Symptom Validity Failure in Veterans With PTSD.

Objective: Performance validity tests (PVTs) and symptom validity tests (SVTs) are necessary in clinical and research contexts. The extent to which psychiatric distress contributes to failure on these tests is unclear. The authors hypothesized that the relation between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and validity would be serially mediated by distress tolerance and symptom severity.

Ultrasound Visualization of Torsional Anatomic Changes From External Rotation of the Anterior Shoulder.

Unlabelled: The sonographic appearance of soft tissue can be altered with movement. This can be related to both position change as well as torsional stress. The objective of this article is to demonstrate sonographic anatomy of the anterior shoulder as it moves into full external rotation.