Gulf War veterans: a neuropsychological examination.
Eighty-two Persian Gulf War veterans seen in clinic were referred for neuropsychological evaluation. Relatedness of neuropsychological and neurological functioning to subjective complaint, exposure, a clinical signs index, and possible interference variables was examined in a subsample of 49 who completed assessment. The subsample was representative of the entire group with respect to symptom severity. Variables representing sustained attention, grip strength, motor coordination, vibratory sense, finger-tip number writing perception, executive functioning, memory functioning, and subjective complaint were considered. Neuropsychological performance appeared to be more related to emotional functioning than demographic variables or variables associated with the war. Individual differences may be contributing to different emotional reactions to illnesses, perceptions of exposure risks and cognitive functioning, and responses to stress.
Sillanpaa
M C
MC
Behavioral Healthcare Group, Southfield, MI 48034, USA.
Agar
L M
LM
Milner
I B
IB
Podany
E C
EC
Axelrod
B N
BN
Brown
G G
GG
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D018923:Persian Gulf Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D014728:Veterans