Performance monitoring in children following traumatic brain injury.
BACKGROUND
Executive control deficits are common sequelae of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI). The goal of the current study was to assess a specific executive control function, performance monitoring, in children following TBI.


METHODS
Thirty-one children with mild-moderate TBI, 18 with severe TBI, and 37 control children without TBI, of comparable age and sex, performed the stop signal task, a speeded choice reaction time task. On occasion, they were presented with a signal to stop their responses. Performance monitoring was defined as the extent of slowing in go-task reaction time following failure to stop responses.


RESULTS
The TBI group as a whole demonstrated less post-error slowing than did controls. This finding suggested impaired error monitoring performance. In addition, time since injury and socioeconomic status predicted less slowing after stopped responses.


CONCLUSIONS
We suggest that alterations in performance monitoring expressed as the inability to notice, regulate and adjust behavior to changing situations are an effect of TBI in children.
Ornstein
Tisha J
TJ
Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Ontario Canada.
Levin
Harvey S
HS
Chen
Shirley
S
Hanten
Gerri
G
Ewing-Cobbs
Linda
L
Dennis
Maureen
M
Barnes
Marcia
M
Max
Jeffrey E
JE
Logan
Gordon D
GD
Schachar
Russell
R
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis