Dual task performance and post traumatic brain injury.

ABSTRACT

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To determine if people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) display deficits in dual tasking ability. RESEARCH DESIGN: Observational and correlational research design used, to identify and describe the nature of dual task impairment in people with TBI. METHODS AND PROCEDURES Eighty-six people with TBI were assessed using a new standardized paper-and-pencil assessment of dual tasking ability and a number of other neuropsychological tests assessing attention, executive functioning and memory. MAIN OUTCOME AND RESULTS: Twenty-three out of the 86 people with TBI (26.74%) performed below the cut-off for normal performance, suggesting that only one quarter of the TBI sample assessed had deficits in attentional control. CONCLUSIONS: Deficits in task co-ordination are not a necessary consequence of TBI.