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Updated: Aug 30, 2026
Detecting Behavioral Deficits in Rats After Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: January 30, 2018
Functional assessment of executive abilities following traumatic brain injury
Michael J Bamdad1, Laurie M Ryan, Deborah L Warden
1Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program, Uniformed Services University of The Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA. mbamdad@gwu.edu
Primary Objective:
The Test of Functional Executive Abilities (TOFEA) is a measure of real-world planning/problem-solving abilities. The present study sought to identify the relationship between the TOFEA and traditional executive measures.
Design:
Correlational and principal components factor analyses were conducted using the TOFEA and traditional neuropsychological executive measures.
Methods:
Participants were 340 patients with traumatic brain injury. All participants underwent neuropsychological and speech-language assessments.
Results:
Factor analysis of the TOFEA yielded a two-factor solution, planning/initiation and awareness/comprehension. Correlational analysis between the TOFEA and traditional measures demonstrated only a weak relationship. Factor analysis indicated a four factor executive solution with the TOFEA loading on the third planning/initiation and reasoning factor.
Conclusions:
The data support the notion that there is no one single measure of frontal-executive functioning, but rather these tests represent different executive components and, as such, more than one measure should be used in a comprehensive assessment.
