Increased risk for age-related impairment in visual attention associated with mild traumatic brain injury: Evidence from saccadic response times.

It was hypothesized that risk for age-related impairment in attention would be greater among those with remote history of mild TBI than individuals without history of head injury. Twenty-seven adults with remote history of mild TBI and a well-matched comparison group of 54 uninjured controls completed a computerized test of visual attention while saccadic and manual response times were recorded. Within the mild TBI group only, older age was associated with slower saccadic responses and poorer saccadic inhibition. Saccadic slowing was mitigated in situations where the timing and location of attention targets was fully predictable. Mild TBI was not associated with age-related increases in risk for neuropsychological impairment or neurobehavioral symptoms. These results provide preliminary evidence that risk for age-related impairment in visual attention may be higher among those with a history of mild TBI. Saccadic measures may provide enhanced sensitivity to this subtle form of cognitive impairment

Linear regressions of age on individual BEAM trial types for controls (solid line) and mild TBI (dotted line).

<p>Linear regressions of age on individual BEAM trial types for controls (solid line) and mild TBI (dotted line).</p

Participant Characteristics.

<p>Participant Characteristics.</p

The Non-Concordance of Self-Reported and Performance-Based Measures of Vestibular Dysfunction in Military and Civilian Populations Following TBI

As a predominately young, physically active, and generally healthy population, service members (SMs) with vestibular dysfunction (VD) following a TBI may not be accurately represented by the current civilian reference ranges on assessments of VD. This study enrolled SMs who were referred for vestibular rehabilitation following a mild/moderate TBI. The participants self-reported VD using the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) followed by evaluation of vestibular performance using computerized dynamic posturography sensory organizational test (CDP&ndash;SOT). Retrospective analysis of these outcomes comparing the study sample of SMs to the reported civilian samples revealed SMs self-reported lower VD with significantly higher balance confidence (ABC: 77.11 &plusmn; 14.61, p &lt; 0.05) and lower dizziness (DHI: 37.75 &plusmn; 11.74, p &lt; 0.05) than civilians. However, the SMs underperformed in performance-based evaluations compared to civilians with significantly lower CDP&ndash;SOT composite and ratio scores (COMP: 68.46 &plusmn; 13.46, p &lt; 0.05; VIS: 81.36 &plusmn; 14.03, p &lt; 0.01; VEST: 55.63 &plusmn; 22.28, p &lt; 0.05; SOM: 90.46 &plusmn; 10.17, p &lt; 0.05). Correlational analyses identified significant relationships between the ABC and CDP&ndash;SOT composite (r = 0.380, p &lt; 0.01) and ratio scores (VIS: r = 0.266, p &lt; 0.05; VEST: r = 0.352, p &lt; 0.01). These results highlight the importance of recognizing and understanding nuances in assessing VD in SMs to ensure they have access to adequate care and rehabilitation prior to returning to duty