title: Are self-reported symptoms of executive dysfunction associated with objective executive function performance following mild to moderate traumatic brain injury?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined the relationship between self-reported pre- and post-injury changes in executive dysfunction, apathy, disinhibition, and depression, and performance on neuropsychological tests of executive function, attention/processing speed, and memory in relation to mood levels and effort test performance in individuals in the early stages of recovery from mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 71 noncombat military personnel who were in a semiacute stage of recovery (<3 months post injury) from mild to moderate TBI. Pre- and post-TBI behaviors were assessed with the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe; Grace & Malloy, 2001 ) and correlated with levels of depressive symptoms, effort test performance, and performance on objective measures of attention, executive function, and memory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Self-reported symptoms of executive dysfunction generally failed to predict performance on objective measures of executive function and memory, although they predicted poorer performance on measures of attention/processing speed. Instead, higher levels of depressive symptomatology best predicted poorer performance on measures of executive function and memory. However, the relationship between memory performance and TBI symptoms was no longer significant when effort performance was controlled.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that, among individuals in early recovery from mild to moderate TBI, self-reported depressive symptoms, rather than patients' cognitive complaints, are associated with objective executive function. However, self-reported cognitive complaints may be associated with objectively measured inattention and slow processing speed.
authors.affiliation: Psychology and Research Services, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA 92161, USA.
authors.forename: Dawn M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Schiehser
authors.forename: Dean C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Delis
authors.forename: J Vincent
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Filoteo
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Delano-Wood
authors.forename: S Duke
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Amy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Jak
authors.forename: Angela I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Bondi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D057566:Self Report; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D055815:Young Adult