ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Minerva Psichiatrica 2014 March;55(1):25-33

Copyright © 2014 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Construction of cognitive domains in patients with traumatic brain injury

Yamano-Ikeda M. ^{1, 2}, Nakaya M. ^{1, 3}, Takeda M. ¹, Kikuchi Y. ¹, Tone O. ⁴, Hara M. ⁴, Tomita H. ⁵, Shimada H. ⁶

¹ Department of Psychiatry of Musashino Red Cross Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; ² Graduate School of Human Science, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan; ³ Faculity of Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; ⁴ Department of Neurosurgery of Musashino Red Cross Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; ⁵ Japan Operations Sector of Japanese Red Cross Society, Tokyo, Japan; ⁶ Faculty of Human Science of Waseda University, Saitama, Japan

AIM: Cognitive impairments represent a major problem in the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, few studies have investigated the construction of cognitive domains in patients with TBI. The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive structure in TBI in naturalistic clinical settings.
METHODS: We assessed neuropsychologically 162 patients with mild­ to severe TBI within 3 years after injury.
RESULTS: Principal factor analysis using varimax rotation was conducted, yielding four factors (global cognitive ability, visual memory and visuospatial skills, verbal memory, and executive function) that accounted for 56.8% of variances. The cognitive domains we found were supported the on the basis of theoretical and practical consideration. The weak correlation between injury severity, assessed by Glasgow coma scale, and factor 1 “global cognitive ability” and factor 2 “visual memory and visuospatial skills”.
CONCLUSION: The cognitive domains of TBI patients were constructed only four factors. Our results may help in devising treatments and rehabilitation for cognitive dysfunction following TBI.