The rehabilitation of attention in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury, using the APT-II programme

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a prevalent cause of cognitive impairments and dysfunctions and affects over 2 million individuals each year. Mild tra umatic brain injury (MTBI) is generally defined by a brief loss of consciou sness, and post-traumatic amnesia that lasts for less than 24 hours. One re gion of the brain that is likely affected in patients with MTBI is the pre- frontal cortex. This region mediates several functions, including those req uired for adequate attention. Three individuals, diagnosed with MTBI and di fficulties with attention, volunteered to participate in the study. Individ uals were presented with 10 weeks of cognitive retraining with the Attentio n Process Training-II (APT-II) programme, followed by 6 or 7 weeks of educa tional and applicational programmes. Cognitive tests were administered both pre- and post-training to assess the effectiveness of the programme. Analy sis of the results showed that the APT-II programme improved attention and performance speed in each of the three individuals. In addition, any rehabi litated cognitive skills remained stable in each individual in the absence of the rehabilitation programme for at least 6 weeks.