Word fluency generation skills of head-injured patients in an acute trauma center.
Two hundred-eighteen acutely brain-injured trauma patients with confirmed diagnosis of initial closed head injury completed two types of word fluency generation tasks, animal naming and single-letter-based word generation. Numbers of responses and inferred strategy utilizations were examined and compared with established norms for non-brain-injured individuals using frequency counts and chi 2 analyses. Significant differences were noted in response quantity and quality between closed head-injury patients and normals. A positive relationship was noted between level of cognitive functioning and number of word associates generated. Same initial consonant-vowel syllable (see-seed), semantic association (ship-sail), and same initial consonant-consonant blend (tree-trick) strategies were used by all subjects regardless of severity of injury. Quantitative and qualitative differences were noted as a function of severity of cognitive disruption.
Gruen
A K
AK
Speech-Communication Disorders Program, Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, University of Maryland Medical System, Baltimore.
Frankle
B C
BC
Schwartz
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001037:Aphasia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001041:Aphasia, Wernicke / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000150:complications*; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D010700:Phonetics; D012660:Semantics; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D014936:Word Association Tests