Interactions between divided attention and working-memory load in patients with severe traumatic brain injury

J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2008 May;30(4):481-90. doi: 10.1080/13803390701550144.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between divided-attention deficits and working-memory limitations after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Severe TBI patients (n = 43) and controls were given a n-back task of three different load levels, which was performed as a single and a dual task. Patients demonstrated, as expected, a difficulty in dual-task processing and an increased susceptibility to high working-memory load, but dual-task performance and working-memory load did not interact as expected. These results are in accordance with recent findings suggesting that dual-task performance and other working-memory functions represent dissociable although interrelated abilities.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attention / physiology*
  • Brain Injuries / physiopathology*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Choice Behavior / physiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Memory, Short-Term / physiology*
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Photic Stimulation / methods
  • Reaction Time / physiology
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Surveys and Questionnaires