Abstract

QUIJANO MARTINEZ, MARÍA CRISTINA  and  CUERVO CUESTA, MARÍA TERESA. COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AFTER TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. Act.Colom.Psicol. [online]. 2011, vol.14, n.1, pp.71-80. ISSN 0123-9155.

Colombia lacks studies on the neuropsychological characteristics of people who suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI), despite this being a public health problem and the leading cause of disability and death. Previous studies have shown that TBI generates further cognitive impairment in attention and memory, which, in turn, affect the daily lives of patients. The aim of this study was to describe the cognitive functions that may be affected as a result of TBI. A total of 30 patients, mean age 34 years and a history of TBI of at least 6 months duration participated in the study; 9 of them had mild head injury; 10 had a moderate condition and 11 had severe TBI; their average schooling was 9 years and they had no history of previous neurological and / or psychiatric problems. The brief neuropsychological assessment in Spanish (NEUROPSI) was carried out, along with the application of the Trail Making Test A and B (TMTA-TMTB), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Figura Compleja de Rey, the Test de Aprendizaje Audioverbal de Rey and the Stroop Test. Results showed below average scores in all tests and in the three groups of TBI, detecting a decrease in the processes of evocation of verbal and visual memory, attention, language and executive functions. In conclusion, TBI affects most cognitive functions, differentially altering them and in some cases without this being related to the severity of TBI. These findings are important due to their implications for the rehabilitation process offered to these patients which should not be limited to the physical condition.

Keywords : cognitive functions; neuropsychological impairment; traumatic brain injury.

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