title: Information processing following mild head injury.
abstract: Research has shown that individuals who have sustained mild head injury demonstrate a slowed speed of processing that is exacerbated by fatigue/stress. We administered the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) at the beginning and at the end of a 4-h experimental protocol to determine whether fatigue or a stressor would result in poorer scores for individuals who had previously sustained mild head injury. A significant improvement was found between the first and second administration for both head-injured and control subjects, but difference scores revealed a significant between-groups difference for the first of the four trials, with the head-injured participants performing worse than controls. Apparently, head-injured participants were slower to develop, as well as slower to regain, a means of efficiently processing rapidly presented information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39216, USA. jojile@psychiatry.umsmed.edu
authors.forename: Judith R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: O'Jile
authors.forename: Laurie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Betz
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parks-Levy
authors.forename: Robin C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Hilsabeck
authors.forename: Jamie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rhudy
authors.forename: Wm Drew
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Gouvier
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011214:Practice, Psychological