Use of the California Verbal Learning Test to detect proactive interference in the traumatically brain injured

Recent studies using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) to investigate the learning and memory capacities of traumatically-brain injured (TBI) individuals have suggested that this population does not show the expected buildup of proactive interference (PI). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether PI could be detected on the CVLT, in a TBI sample, if PI were calculated using alternative methods. CVLT data from 25 TBI individuals with varying degrees of brain injury and 21 healthy controls were compared. Results from the various analyses suggested that TBI individuals show buildup and release from PI when learning and attempting to recall competing forms of information if appropriate methods of analysis are used. Although the CVLT differs considerably from traditional PI paradigms (e.g., Wickens, 1970), our results suggest it can be used to detect PI in TBI individuals.