title: The Association between Pain-Related Variables, Emotional Factors, and Attentional Functioning following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
abstract: This study examined how MTBI concomitants such as pain variables, depression, and anxiety were related to attentional functioning at different stages of recovery. Participants having sustained a MTBI who were in the earlier phase of recovery showed, compared to controls, slower reaction times and larger intra-individual variability on a Computerized Pictorial Stroop Task (CPST). They also reported more post-concussion symptoms, pain intensity and disability, whereas MTBI participants who were in the later phase of recovery presented a higher rate of post-concussive symptoms and somewhat higher pain intensity/disability. MTBI participants' scores on the cognitive items of the post-concussion symptoms scale were positively correlated with reaction times on the CPST, while pain intensity/disability levels were negatively correlated with standard attention measures. Results indicate that obtaining response times and intra-individual variability measures using tests such as the CPST represents an effective means for measuring recovery of attentional function, and that pain intensity/disability should be systematically assessed after a MTBI.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation-Centre de Réadaptation Lucie-Bruneau and Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada H2H 2N8.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beaupré
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Guise
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McKerral