The UCLA longitudinal study of neurocognitive outcomes following mild pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Comprehensive reviews of neurocognitive outcomes following mild, uncomplicated traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children have shown minimal effects on neurocognition, especially in methodologically rigorous studies. In this study, we report longitudinal (1, 6, and 12 months post injury) results in four domains of neurocognitive functioning in a large sample of children with mild TBI (n = 124, ages 8-17 at injury) relative to two demographically matched control groups (other injury: n = 94 and non-injury: n = 106). After accounting for age and parental education, significant main effects of group were observed on 7 of the 10 neurocognitive tests.

Brain and cognitive reserve: mediator(s) and construct validity, a critique.

The concept of "reserve" has traditionally been defined on the basis of a single indicator (e.g., education or intracranial volume) that purports to moderate or buffer the effects of brain damage on different clinical outcomes.

Children's Color Trails Test 1 & 2: test-retest reliability and factorial validity.

This investigation examined the test-retest reliability and the factorial validity of the Children's Color Trails Test 1 & 2 (CCTT) using two distinct and independent studies and their respective research samples. The reliability of the CCTT was evaluated in a study with 6-12-year-old children (n = 54) strictly selected and diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder from an interventional protocol using test-retest coefficients at 8- and 16-week time intervals. Factorial validity was investigated using groups of children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) (n = 137), children with other types of trauma than brain or head injury (Other Injury) (n = 132), and healthy controls (n = 114) from a protocol assessing the neuropsychological sequelae of traumatic brain injury.

Neuropsychological exploration of alleged mold neurotoxicity.

Cognitive and emotional correlates of toxic mold exposure and potential dose-response effects for both outcomes were investigated. Self-reported length of exposure, time since last exposure, and serum immunoglobulin (IgG) levels were assessed. Despite CNS complaints often seen with mold exposed individuals, overall results did not uncover concomitant cognitive deficits suggested in previous studies or a significant reduction in intellectual functioning.

Childhood cognitive performance and risk of generalized anxiety disorder.

Background: Perception of control over one's environment, particularly when faced with an ambiguous situation, has been identified as a critical cognitive process involved in worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Similarly, it is thought that individuals with lower cognitive skills feel less in control, and do not cope as well as individuals with higher cognitive skills. This study tests the hypothesis that individuals with higher cognitive skills are less likely to develop a lifetime diagnosis of GAD, and considers onset in three developmental periods: childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

Functional outcome in TBI II: verbal memory and information processing speed mediators.

Following traumatic brain injury (TBI), patients often report memory difficulties, as well as reduced information processing speed. However, it remains unclear the extent to which these deficits contribute to functional impairment. In the present study, we compared the relative contribution of verbal memory and information processing speed to functional impairment at 12-month post-injury, in 87 patients with moderate-to-severe TBI.

Functional outcome in TBI I: neuropsychological, emotional, and behavioral mediators.

Literature exists to suggest that the severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is positively associated with the severity of functional impairment. However, potential mediators of this relationship have not been studied systematically. In the present study, we evaluated a model hypothesized to explain the relationship between TBI severity and functional impairment in 87 patients with moderate-to-severe TBI, studied longitudinally.

Components of depression in HIV-1 infection: their differential relationship to neurocognitive performance.

Both depression and neurocognitive compromise are commonly observed among persons infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). To date, the majority of studies have failed to find a consistent relationship between mood and cognition among HIV-seropositive (HIV+) individuals, suggesting that these constructs are independent of one another. However, depression is a multi-dimensional syndrome and its measurement often utilizes multi-factorial instruments containing cognitive, affective, somatic, and motivational components.

Personality change in head trauma: a validity study of the Neuropsychology Behavior and Affect Profile.

This study represents the first attempt to cross validate and report on the Neuropsychology Behavior and Affect Profile (NBAP) using closed head injury (CHI) participants. The NBAP is designed to measure emotional functioning before and following a brain event. Two CHI samples, differing primarily by method of ascertainment, were compared to a group of normal controls.

Patterns of American immigration and their influence on the acquisition of neuropsychological norms for Hispanics.

This article examines patterns of legal American immigration (migrations to the United States from abroad) and their direct impact on the acquisition of neuropsychological (NP) normative data for Hispanics. The nonrandom and selective nature of these migrations, and their accompanying demographic attributes, are shown to significantly influence the acquisition process. Specifically, the direct impact of several potential sources of bias while procuring NP norms is explored.

Psychosocial risk factors of HIV morbidity and mortality: findings from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS).

Despite the use of laboratory markers in estimating HIV prognosis, significant variation in the natural history of HIV-1 infection remains unexplained. Recent studies suggest psychosocial risk factors have important prognostic significance in HIV disease. The objective of the present study was to examine the prognostic influence of age, general intellectual functioning, and emotional distress across the spectrum of HIV disease progression.

Base rate of a WMS-R malingering index in a sample of non-compensation-seeking men infected with HIV-1.

HIV-1 infected persons who are pursuing disability benefits are increasingly seeking neuropsychological assessment for purposes of corroborating functional impairment. Thus, research on the utility of measures of symptom validity among these patients is needed. Recently, Mittenberg, Azrin, Millsaps, and Heilbronner (1993) proposed a malingering index score for the WechslerMemoryScale-Revised that is derived by subtracting the Attention/Concentration Index (ACI) score from the General Memory Index Score (GMI).

Metabolic recovery following human traumatic brain injury based on FDG-PET: time course and relationship to neurological disability.

Objective: Utilizing [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), we assessed the temporal pattern and the correlation of functional and metabolic recovery following human traumatic brain injury.

Design And Subjects: Fifty-four patients with injury severity ranging from mild to severe were studied. Thirteen of these patients underwent both an acute and delayed FDG-PET study.

Long-term effects of high-dose zidovudine treatment on neuropsychological performance in mildly symptomatic HIV-positive patients: results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation.

This study examined the treatment outcome of high-dose (1500 mg/day) zidovudine (AZT) on neuropsychological (NP) functioning (Trailmaking Test A & B, WAIS-R Digit Symbol, and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) across a 12-month period in mildly symptomatic HIV-1 seropositive men (n = 46 at entry) enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (VA Cooperative Studies Program #298). Neither short-term (0-6 months) nor long-term (0-12 months) AZT administration revealed enhancement in NP performance. The results suggest that, although AZT may afford patients prophylactic benefits, protracted high-dose AZT treatment does not improve NP functioning in mildly symptomatic HIV-positive individuals.

Psychiatric correlates in chronic fatigue syndrome.

PURPOSE: This study presents psychiatric correlates in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) that emerged from the CDC's Surveillance Study. It seeks to determine the time of onset and rates of syndromal psychiatric disorders and identify the predominant disorder. Other goals are to ascertain whether depression is associated with CFS symptomatology, compare syndromal to self- reported depression, and test for the specificity of the 1988 CDC case definition for CFS.

Commentary and perspectives on R.M. Allen's "The test performance of the brain injured".

Significant advances have occurred in the study of the neuropsychology of head injury since R.M. Allen's (1947) paper.

HIV-1, cocaine, and neuropsychological performance in African American men.

The purpose of this study was to examine the independent and interactive effects of HIV-1 serostatus and cocaine on neuropsychological (NP) performance in a sample of 237 gay and bisexual urban-dwelling African American men. Consistent with current evidence, it was expected that the greatest neuropsychological performance deficits would be evident (1) in the symptomatic seropositives (SSPs), especially in domains affected by HIV (i.e.

Effects of depressed mood versus clinical depression on neuropsychological test performance among African American men impacted by HIV/AIDS.

The utility of self-report measures in identifying those at risk for depressive disorder and the adverse impact of depression versus depressed mood and HIV serostatus on neuropsychological (NP) test performance were examined in a large sample (N = 243) of gay and bisexual African American men. Results indicate high rates of depression relative to recent population estimates, regardless of methodology, but that the use of standard cut-scores for self-report inventories may significantly overestimate psychiatric morbidity. Limited independent effects of serostatus or depression on NP test performance were observed.

Persistent Post-Concussive Syndrome: A proposed methodology and literature review to determine the effects, if any, of mild head and other bodily injury.

Following mild head injury, a subgroup of individuals exhibit a constellation of chronic symptoms, a condition Alexander (1995) labeled Persistent Post-Concussive Syndrome (PPCS). He implicated neurological factors in the initial phase of the syndrome but psychological factors in the maintenance of symptoms. However, it is unclear as to whether an initial mild head injury is necessary or sufficient to cause the symptoms of PPCS.

Atypical handedness in schizophrenia: some methodological and theoretical issues.

An updated review of the literature strongly supports the view that in schizophrenia there is an atypical leftward shift in the handedness distribution that, while comprising different subtypes, is characterized by a more variable and less completely lateralized pattern of manual preference, referred to as mixed handedness (MH) or ambiguous handedness (AH). Only two studies revealed an increased prevalence of left-handedness suggestive of pathological left-handedness (PLH). This article also examines the current status of neurodevelopmental factors and mechanisms in schizophrenia that purport to explain these pathological shifts in handedness (PLH, MH, AH).

Depression predicts procedural but not episodic memory in HIV-1 infection.

Forty-three homosexual/bisexual males with HIV-1 infection participated in a study that sought to determine: (1) whether increased levels of self-reported depressive symptomatology were associated with poorer performance on episodic or procedural memory tasks, (2) the relative strength of association between the affective/cognitive or somatic symptoms of depression and memory deficits and level of immunosuppression, and (3) whether increased depression or neuropsychological deficits are associated with degree of immunosuppression. Linear regression analyses revealed that increased affective/cognitive symptomatology was correlated with poorer performance on a procedural memory task, but was not correlated with performance on an episodic memory task or degree of immunosuppression. In contrast, somatic symptoms showed the strongest association with level of immunosuppression, but were not correlated with performance on the memory tasks.

Mild closed-head injury in children and adolescents: behavior problems and academic outcomes.

The issue of whether mild head injuries (HIs) in children cause behavior problems and poor scholastic performance is controversial. This study included 119 children (range = 8-16 years old) with HI, 114 with other injuries, and 106 with no injury (NI). Behavioral functioning was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist; academic functioning, with school grades and standardized testing.

Depression after traumatic brain injury as a function of Glasgow Outcome Score.

One hundred and five patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) were assessed for depressive symptomatology at 6 months postinjury and 66 of those patients were examined again at 12 months postinjury. At 6 months, 42% of the patients with TBI and 20% of the Other Injury Control Group (OIC) were identified as depressed. Individuals with poor outcome (as measured by Glasgow Outcome Score [GOS]) had a higher frequency of depressive symptomatology than those with good GOS outcome.

Slowed information processing in HIV-1 disease. The Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS).

This investigation examined the effects of HIV-1 infection on speeded complex cognitive processing in a group of HIV-negative (n = 666), HIV-positive symptomatic (n = 156), and HIV-positive asymptomatic (n = 623) participants while controlling for the effects of slowed motor functioning, peripheral neuropathy, and several other putative confounds. Stroop Interference and reaction-time tasks served as anchor procedures to assess cognitive processing. The present findings suggest that HIV-1 infection is capable of compromising CNS-mediated cognitive processes (speeded processing) infringing upon their efficacy in the symptomatic stages of the disease while sparing individuals in the asymptomatic stage.

Neuropsychological, psychosocial and vocational correlates of the Glasgow Outcome Scale at 6 months post-injury: a study of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury patients.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) subjects at Glasgow Outcome Scale levels 3 (severe disability), 4 (moderate disability), 5 (good recovery), and an other-injury control group (OIC) were compared in terms of neuropsychological, psychosocial, and vocational functioning 6 months after injury. Subjects were a sample of 100 patients with a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a matched sample of 30 other-injury control subjects (OIC) enrolled in the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center study of TBI outcome. Overall, the results showed a systematic decrease in mean neuropsychological test performance as a function of increasing GOS severity, as well as an increased prevalence of symptoms of depression and lower ratings on measures assessing employability and capacity for self care.