Study finds cognitive performance can be improved in teens months, years after traumatic brain injury

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/cfb-sfc061014.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 11-Jun-2014
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Contact: Shelly Kirkland
shelly.kirkland@utdallas.edu
972-883-3221
Center for BrainHealth
Study finds cognitive performance can be improved in teens months, years after traumatic brain injury

Eight-session gist-reasoning training advances higher-order thinking and other key frontal lobe functions in chronic recovery stages

Traumatic brain injuries from sports, recreational activities, falls or car accidents are the leading cause of death and disability in children and adolescents. While previously it was believed that the window for brain recovery was at most one year after injury, new research from the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas published online today in the open-access journal Frontiers in Neurology shows cognitive performance can be improved to significant degrees months, and even years, after injury, given targeted brain training.

"The after-effects of concussions and more severe brain injuries can be very different and more detrimental to a developing child or adolescent brain than an adult brain," said Dr. Lori Cook, study author and director of the Center for BrainHealth's pediatric brain injury programs. "While the brain undergoes spontaneous recovery in the immediate days, weeks, and months following a brain injury, cognitive deficits may continue to evolve months to years after the initial brain insult when the brain is called upon to perform higher-order reasoning and critical thinking tasks."

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