BRAIN INJURY - PERSONALITY, PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGY

This study investigated the relationship between brain injury and pers onality, using the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery and the C linical Analysis Questionnaire as measurement tools. Psychopathologica l factors, as opposed to normal personality traits, were highly correl ated with measures of brain injury. Depression, in particular, was fou nd to be substantially involved in the sequelae of brain injury for th is sample. A trend in the data revealed that suicidal depression and a nxious depression were differentially related to deficits on two scale s of the LNNB. Patients with evidence of suicidal depression were also more sensitive to emotional dysfunction in other areas. Few differenc es were found between patients with traumatic brain injury and those w ith other types of brain injuries. Results suggest that measures of ps ychopathology can provide important supplementary information to neuro psychological assessment, above that obtained from measures of brain f unctioning alone. Controlled studies should investigate the relationsh ip between psychopathology and neuropsychology more thoroughly to prov ide clearer determinations of its involvement in the rehabilitation of the brain-injured person.