NEUROBEHAVIORAL CONSEQUENCES OF CLOSED-HEAD INJURY IN OLDER ADULTS

This study examined the neurobehavioural effects of closed head injury (CHI) in adults aged 50 years and older. Twenty two mild to moderate CHI patients who were within seven months of the injury were administe red measures of language, memory, attention, and executive functioning , Compared with demographically similar normal controls, the patients exhibited significantly poorer functioning on the cognitive domains. N aming and word fluency under timed conditions, verbal and visual memor y, and the ability to infer similarities were especially vulnerable. T hese initial findings indicate that CHI in older adults produces consi derable cognitive deficits in the early stages of recovery. Future res earch should characterise long term outcome and the potential links be tween head injury and the development of progressive dementia.