Neurobehavioural outcome in traumatic brain injury in relation to neuropsychological performance and computed tomography data

The present study sought to determine whether information attained from computed tomography (CT) imaging and neuropsychological evaluation can predict degree of apathy, disinhibition, and executive cognitive dysfunction at one to five years following mild complicated, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Furthermore, it examined the level of concordance between reports made by individuals with TBI and informants regarding these domains of neurobehavioural disturbance in daily life. Results showed that CT data collected in the acute post-injury stage was not predictive of the degree of neurobehavioural disturbance reported by either TBI survivors or informants one to five years later. While concurrent performance on neuropsychological testing was not predictive of self-reported difficulties in daily life in any of the three domains of interest, performance was predictive of informant-reported executive cognitive dysfunction. Finally, informants reported higher levels of disturbance than did the survivors themselves, with the greatest discrepancy present for level of executive cognitive dysfunction