title: Effects of severe traumatic brain injury on visual memory.
abstract: The study aimed to clarify the effects of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) on visual memory. Three groups of participants (14 late-recovery and 14 early-recovery TBI individuals and 18 controls) were administered the following: The Shum Visual Learning Test (SVLT), a test that measures the ability to remember visual patterns, an electronic maze test, a test that measures the ability to remember spatial positions, and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), a test of verbal memory and learning. The individuals with TBI (late- and early-recovery) were found to be impaired on the SVLT and the RAVLT but not on the electronic maze. Specifically, on the SVLT, they were found to learn at a slower rate and make more false-positive errors than the controls. The advantages of the SVLT over visual memory tests used in previous studies and the significance of findings of the present study were discussed.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Unit, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. D.Shum@mailbox.gu.edu.au
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Shum
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: O'Gorman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000647:Amnesia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D020208:Brain Injury, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D013067:Speech Perception; D014706:Verbal Learning