Differences in Working Memory

A new study published in Radiology evaluated the age effect on working memory performance and functional activation after mild traumatic brain injury. According to the abstract, researchers at Taipei Medical University-Shuang-Ho Hospital in Taiwan compared a group of thirteen individuals between the ages of 21-30 (with a mean age of 26.2 years) to a group of thirteen older patients who had an age range between 51-68 years (with a mean age of 57.8 years). Both groups had sustained mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI). The researchers compared these twenty-six patients with twenty-six age- and sex-match control subjects. Functional MR images were obtained within one month after injury and six weeks after the initial study. Researchers performed group comparison and regression analysis among post concussion symptoms, neuropsychological testing and working memory activity in both groups.

David Yen-Ting Chen, the lead author of the study, stated in a press release, “old age has been recognized as an independent predictor of worse outcome from concussion, but most previous studies were performed on younger adults.” Dr. Chen went on to state, “taken together these findings provide evidence for differential neural plasticity across different ages, with potential prognostic and therapeutic implications. The results suggested MTBI might cause a more profound and lasting effect in older patients.”

The researchers also looked at the differences between men and women. They found that female patients with MTBI had lower digit span scores than did female control subjects, and functional MR imaging depicted sex differences in working memory functional activation; hypoactivation with non recovery of activation change at follow-up studies may suggest a worse working memory outcome in female patients with MTBI.

Car Accident

Trauma to the brain will occur throughout Associate in Nursing automobile accident once the bone strikes, as an example, Associate in Nursing object sort of a handwheel or windscreen. There might or might not be Associate in Nursing open wound to the bone as a result of the accident, but in automobile accidents, the bone might not essentially have to be compelled to are penetrated or broken for a traumatic brain injury to occur. within the case of Associate in Nursing automobile accident the sheer force of the accident will cause the brain to collide against the interior onerous bone of the bone. the explanation why this could occur is that once a moving head involves a fast stop, the brain continues in its movement, putting the inside of the bone. this could cause bruising of the brain (referred to as a contusion) and hurt (brain hemorrhage) which can not be visible at the time of injury.

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