title: Informational literature influences symptom expression following mild head injury: An analog study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many Veterans involved in recent OEF/OIF conflicts return with reports of having experienced an mTBI. The Veteran's Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) have gone to great lengths to provide information to Veterans regarding possible effects of TBI. Although well intended, this information may possibly have an iatrogenic effect. Conversely, setting positive expectations for recovery from mTBI has been shown to result in decreased symptomatology.
  
  
  METHODS
  One-way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc analyses were used to determine whether there were significant differences on reported severity and number of PCS symptoms (NSI) among the three experimental groups (recovery focused information; expectation for persistent symptoms; and no information given).
  
  
  METHODS
  Undergraduate students, who were told to imagine they had experienced a military-related TBI, reported varying levels of expected symptoms when given either positive or negative information about symptom expectation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results indicate that presenting recovery-oriented literature resulted in the lowest report of expected symptoms, whereas presenting no information resulted in the highest report of expected symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Providing Veterans with information regarding a likely positive trajectory of recovery may result in less symptom persistence during rehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Neuropsychology Section, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System , Ann Arbor, MI , USA and.
authors.forename: Brigid
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Waldron-Perrine
authors.forename: Heather A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Tree
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suhr
authors.forename: Linas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bieliauskas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D058015:Health Communication; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D038223:Post-Concussion Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Concussion; head injury; mild brain injury