Citation

Hershaw JN, Barry DM, Ettenhofer ML. PLoS One 2017; 12(2): e0171752.

Affiliation

Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, United States of America.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0171752

PMID

28166259

Abstract

It was hypothesized that risk for age-related impairment in attention would be greater among those with remote history of mild TBI than individuals without history of head injury. Twenty-seven adults with remote history of mild TBI and a well-matched comparison group of 54 uninjured controls completed a computerized test of visual attention while saccadic and manual response times were recorded. Within the mild TBI group only, older age was associated with slower saccadic responses and poorer saccadic inhibition. Saccadic slowing was mitigated in situations where the timing and location of attention targets was fully predictable. Mild TBI was not associated with age-related increases in risk for neuropsychological impairment or neurobehavioral symptoms. These results provide preliminary evidence that risk for age-related impairment in visual attention may be higher among those with a history of mild TBI. Saccadic measures may provide enhanced sensitivity to this subtle form of cognitive impairment.

Language: en