Long-term consequences of severe closed head injury on episodic memory

This is the first systematic investigation of the very long-term effects of severe closed head injury (CFH) on objective measures of memory, and the f irst to employ both a normal control group and an 'other injury' control gr oup consisting of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. The CM group displayed significantly poorer performance on every memory measure, and the effect s izes were large. This impairment in episodic memory is neither due to pre-i njury nor post-injury differences between CHI and normal control subjects b ecause the same differences were found when the CHI group was compared to a group of SCI patients. The findings demonstrate severe impairment in learn ing and retention many years after sustaining a severe CHI, which is likely in part due to the bilateral hippocampal damage shown in neuropathological studies. This lifelong memory impairment needs to be addressed by communit y service programs.