Cognitive Functions Recovery After Traumatic Brain Injury of Mild Severity in Adolescents

Abstract

Introduction

The effect of the traumatic brain injury of mild severity (mTBI) on the cognitive functions influences on the educational activities of adolescents in school and the quality of life in general.

Objectives

To study the violations and to track the dynamics of recovery higher mental functions (HMF), after mTBI in adolescents with neuropsychological syndrome in the range of up to one year.

Materials and methods

The study is based on the original set of techniques designed by A.R. Luria. We focused on assessing the status of various components of the HMF. We also studied of the mental activity in its regulatory and dynamic aspects. Thirty-one patients with mTBI (mean age was 11.5 + 1.3) and 20 healthy subjects (mean age was 12 + 1.5) took part in the study.

Results

Analysis of the results showed that violations of HMF in the acute period were represented by three types of syndromes. The leading place in each syndrome is occupied by deficiency symptoms of non-specific brain structures. Research of dynamics of recovery HMF demonstrated the symptoms related to deficiency of parietal-temporal-occipital area are reducing for the first month, as well as the symptoms of the anterior brain. After six months we observed the decrease all symptoms from cortical structures, but the symptoms persist in the form of fatigue, reduction the rate of mental activity, difficulty in concentration.

Conclusions

Application of neuropsychological approach (Luria school) to the diagnosis and recovery of deficit cognitive function allows to describe the symptoms and to identify their hierarchy in the structure of violations.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.