Special Issue-Spinal Cord Injuries: Advances in Rehabilitation.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe Kolling Institute, neurological disorder resulting from traumatic injury (such as a motor vehicle crash or fall) or non-traumatic injury associated with disease (such as cancer or infection) that results in impaired voluntary motor control and sensory function, usually leading to lifelong severe disability [...].

Cognitive Failure in Adults with Spinal Cord Injury: A Valuable Adjunct Measure for Enhancing Cognitive Assessment and Rehabilitation Outcomes.

Cognitive impairment is common in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), impacting their daily functioning and rehabilitation. This study assesses the extent of self-reported cognitive failures in everyday life in persons with SCI and its relationships with objective neurocognitive measures and psychosocial factors, including depressive mood, anxiety, perceived control, and fatigue. The differences between forty-one adults with a chronic SCI and forty-one able-bodied controls were examined. The participants completed the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) to assess cognitive failure and neurocognitive tests assessing attention and executive functions, as well as a psychosocial assessment. The SCI group reported higher cognitive failure rates than the able-bodied group (31.7% versus 19%, p > 0.05). Objective neurocognitive tests did not significantly correlate with the CFQ scores in either group. However, the CFQ scores were positively associated with most psychosocial factors, even after controlling for covariates. The CFQ scores were significantly associated with depressive mood in persons with SCI. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating self-reported cognitive measures into neurocognitive assessments and rehabilitation planning for adults with SCI. Self-reports capture everyday cognitive challenges that objective tests may miss. Additionally, this study highlights the strong connections between cognitive failures and psychosocial issues, particularly mood disorders, emphasizing the need for comprehensive rehabilitation and psychosocial support post-SCI, addressing both cognitive and emotional wellbeing.

Fluency outcomes following treatment for those who stutter.

The efficacy of treatment therapies for stuttering has been questioned recently by Dayalu and Kalinowski. Aspects put forward that raise doubts about stuttering treatment efficacy included posttreatment unnatural speech and high relapse rates. However, this paper examines these claims and puts forward counterclaims suggesting that at least some stuttering therapies have been shown by the best available research to be efficacious.