Updating Memory after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Orthopedic Injuries

Abstract Few studies have examined the trajectory of recovery of executive function (EF) after mild TBI (mTBI). Therefore, consensus has not been reached on the incidence and extent of EF impairment after mTBI. The present study investigated trajectory of change in executive memory over 3 months after mTBI on 59 right-handed participants with mTBI, as defined by Centers for Disease Control criteria, ages 14–30 years, recruited within 96 hours post-injury and tested <1 week (baseline), 1 month, and 3 months after injury. Also included were 58 participants with orthopedic injury (OI) and 27 typically developing (TD) non-injured participants with similar age, socioeconomic status, sex, and ethnicity. MRI data were acquired at baseline and 3 months. Although criteria included a normal CT scan, lesions were detected by MRI in 19 mTBI patients. Participants completed the KeepTrack task, a verbal recall task placing demands on goal maintenance, semantic memory, and memory updating. Scores reflected items recalle...