Atypical symptom reporting after mild traumatic brain injury.

Objective: Early reporting of atypical symptoms following a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) may be an early indicator of poor prognosis. This study aimed to determine the percentage of people reporting atypical symptoms 1-month post-mTBI and explore links to recovery 12 months later in a community-dwelling mTBI sample.

Methods: Adult participants (>16 years) who had experienced a mTBI were identified from a longitudinal incidence study (BIONIC).

The association between self-reported traumatic brain injury, neuropsychological function, and compliance among people serving community sentences.

Background: Traumatic brain injury is overrepresented in incarcerated samples and has been linked to a number of poor correctional outcomes. Despite this, no research has explored the impact of a recent TBI on compliance outcomes for individuals serving community-based.

Method: We screened for a history of TBI in 106 adults on community sentences and collected compliance (arrests, sentence violations) and related variables (e.

Symptoms and Engagement in Anti-social Behavior 10 Years After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Within a Community Civilian Sample: A Prospective Cohort Study With Age-Sex Matched Control Group.

Objective: To determine if there are longer-term effects on symptoms, health status, mood, and behavior 10 years after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Community-based, civilian sample.

Executive function in individuals who are compliant and non-compliant with the conditions of a community-based sentence.

Executive function encompasses multiple processes (e.g. regulating emotions, managing behaviours, problem-solving) essential in daily living.

Sex differences in outcomes from mild traumatic brain injury eight years post-injury.

The long-term effects of mild TBI (mTBI) are not well understood, and there is an ongoing debate about whether there are sex differences in outcomes following mTBI. This study examined i) symptom burden and functional outcomes at 8-years post-injury in males and females following mTBI; ii) sex differences in outcomes at 8-years post-injury for those aged <45 years and ≥45 years and; iii) sex differences in outcomes for single and repetitive TBI. Adults (≥16 years at injury) identified as part of a population-based TBI incidence study (BIONIC) who experienced mTBI 8-years ago (N = 151) and a TBI-free sample (N = 151) completed self-report measures of symptoms and symptom burden (Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptom Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist), and functional outcomes (Participation Assessments with Recombined Tools, Work Limitations Questionnaire).

Parent and Teacher-Reported Child Outcomes Seven Years After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Nested Case Control Study.

Increasing evidence suggests potential lifetime effects following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in childhood. Few studies have examined medium-term outcomes among hospitalized and non-hospitalized samples. Study aims were to describe children's behavioral and emotional adjustment, executive function (EF), quality of life, and participation at 7-years following mild TBI using parents' and teachers' reports.

The role of prior sleep for divergent thinking in infants.

Higher-order cognitive functions seem particularly vulnerable to disruptions in prior sleep in school-aged children and adult populations. This study tested whether divergent thinking in infants varied as a function of prior sleep. Forty-three infants aged 13-16 months participated in a behavioural assessment of divergent thinking.

Psychosocial functioning at 4-years after pediatric mild traumatic brain injury.

: Behavioral and emotional difficulties are reported following pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). But few studies have used a broad conceptual approach to examine children's long-term psychosocial outcomes. This study examines children's psychosocial outcomes at 4-years after mild TBI and associated factors.

Clinician knowledge of driving restrictions following a stroke event.

Aim: To investigate the knowledge and practice of health professionals when advising persons on driving restrictions after a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or stroke in a tertiary hospital in New Zealand.

Methods: Health professionals working in the area of stroke care across the acute and rehabilitation services in a large tertiary hospital were invited to complete an electronic survey around knowledge of driving restrictions based on the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) guidelines. Knowledge was assessed for both private and commercial vehicle use.

Co-driving: Passenger actions and distractions.

Approximately one third of car trips involve one or more passengers and yet we know little about how the presence of a passenger helps or hinders safety and efficiency. To date, research in this area has focused on the possible distractive effects of passengers. Although we know that drivers conversing on a mobile phone is distracting and unsafe, epidemiological studies suggest that driving with a passenger has a lower crash risk than driving alone.

The role of control in risk perception on rural roads.

Risk perception plays an important role in driver behaviour, particularly for speed choice. Risk perception studies use a range of techniques from on-road data collection to ratings of still photos, however participants' ratings differ depending on the study methodology, possibly due to their perception of control. To explore this we conducted a multiple methods study to investigate drivers' perceptions of risk on rural roads.

Incidence of Sports-Related Traumatic Brain Injury of All Severities: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Whilst there are many benefits to participating in sports and recreational activities, there is also a risk of injury including sports-related traumatic brain injury -(SR-TBI). To inform injury prevention initiatives, it is important to explore the burden of SR-TBI at the population level. This review aimed to estimate the incidence of SR-TBI in the general population across injury severities.

The association between health-related quality of life and noise or light sensitivity in survivors of a mild traumatic brain injury.

Purpose: Sensory impairment is a common aftereffect of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, their influence upon treatment outcomes and quality of life has yet to be investigated. This study sought to determine the effects of noise and light sensitivity upon the quality of life of individuals diagnosed with a TBI.

Methods: A cross-sectional adult sample obtained from a longitudinal study (n = 293) provided measures of light and noise sensitivity and quality of life 12 months post injury.

Incidence of stroke and traumatic brain injury in New Zealand: contrasting the BIONIC and ARCOS-IV studies.

Aims: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and stroke are the main causes of acquired brain injury. The differences in demographic profiles of stroke and TBI suggest that high-quality epidemiological studies of the two be compared. This study examined incidence of stroke and TBI by age and ethnicity in New Zealand.

Longitudinal patterns of behavior, cognition, and quality of life after mild traumatic brain injury in children: BIONIC study findings.

: Research following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) during childhood predominantly examines recovery up to 12 months post-injury. : To determine children's longer-term (4 years) patterns and predictors of recovery. : Parents of 196 children (aged 1-15 years) completed the Behaviour Assessment System for Children and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory at baseline, 1, 6, 12, and 48 months post-injury.

Social cognition four years after mild-TBI: An age-matched prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Objective: To assess longer-term social cognition after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and to identify the sociodemographic and acute factors (mood, cognitive functioning, and symptoms) influencing social cognition.

Method: Data were extracted for 121 adults who experienced a mTBI and completed the Emotion Evaluation and Social Inference Enriched tests of The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT) 4 years postinjury. To identify early indicators of outcome, responses to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptom Questionnaire, and CNS Vital Signs neurocognitive assessment conducted 1 month postinjury were also extracted.

Long-term factor structure of the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptom Questionnaire in mild traumatic brain injury and normative sample.

Background: Previous studies of the Rivermead Post-Concussive Questionnaire(RPQ)'s factor structure were conducted within 1 year post-injury. Post-concussive symptoms may persist, and are common in the general population, so determining if the factor structure in mild-TBI and controls differ is important. This study examined factor structure of the RPQ in adults 4 years post-mild-TBI and in age-/gender-matched controls.

Depression and anxiety across the first 4 years after mild traumatic brain injury: findings from a community-based study.

Background: Emotional disorders are considered to contribute to persistent difficulties after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Few studies have examined anxiety after mild TBI, and fewer have examined comorbid depression and anxiety and their trajectories over time. This study describes depression and anxiety across 48-months after mild TBI in adults (aged >15 years at injury).

Mind wandering during everyday driving: An on-road study.

This study was an investigation into mind wandering during everyday driving, and its association with crash patterns. We selected a 25 km route on urban roads for analysis of crashes, and an on-road study of mind wandering by a sample of drivers familiar with the route. We analysed reported crashes on the route over a five year period from New Zealand's crash database.

Transitions within a safe road system.

As drivers move through the road transport system they are exposed to a range of different situations and road conditions in a relatively short space of time. Drivers' expectations about what will happen on different types of roads have strong effects on their speed choices, and where they look and what they attend to. As a result it is important to assist drivers to change their expectations when they transition from one road type to another.

Trajectories in health recovery in the 12 months following a mild traumatic brain injury in children: findings from the BIONIC Study.

INTRODUCTION There is growing consensus that adverse child outcomes may be evident in the early recovery phase following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, controversy remains around the nature of children's longer-term recovery. AIM To examine child cognitive, behavioural and quality-of-life outcomes over 12 months following mild injury, and to identify prognostic factors associated with outcomes.

Parent and child ratings of child behaviour following mild traumatic brain injury.

Background: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in children is most commonly associated with parent-reported child behaviour problems. The extent to which parent and child ratings align is unknown.

Objectives: To examine differences in child behaviour and patterns of recovery over the first 12 months following mTBI based on parent and child self-report.

Unmoving and unmoved: experiences and consequences of impaired non-verbal expressivity in Parkinson's patients and their spouses.

Hypomimia, or facial masking, is a decrease in voluntary control and spontaneous movement of the muscles of the face, which may occur in Parkinson's disease. Little is known about the psychosocial consequences or management of this symptom. The aim of this study was to provide an initial overview of patient & spousal experiences of living with an acquired nonverbal expressive impairment in Parkinson's disease.

Using SmartQuit®, an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Smartphone application, to reduce smoking intake.

Objective: SmartQuit® is a smartphone application (app) for smoking cessation based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a behavioural therapy that encourages individuals to accept internal experiences, such as cravings to smoke, without acting on those experiences or urges. We used a single-subject (A-B-A) design with 10 participants to examine whether SmartQuit® use would reduce cigarette intake in a New Zealand sample.

Methods: 10 smokers tallied their own cravings experienced and cigarettes smoked then sent those tallies to the first author every day until we observed stable patterns (Phase A1).

Using road markings as a continuous cue for speed choice.

The potential for using road markings to indicate speed limits was investigated in a driving simulator over the course of two sessions. Two types of experimental road markings, an "Attentional" set designed to provide visually distinct cues to indicate speed limits of 60, 80 and 100 km/h, and a "Perceptual" set designed to also affect drivers' perception of speed, were compared to a standard undifferentiated set of markings. Participants (n = 20 per group) were assigned to one of four experimental groups (Attentional-Explicit, Attentional-Implicit, Perceptual-Explicit, Perceptual-Implicit) or a Control group (n = 22; standard road markings).