Assessment of behavioral sequelae of traumatic and chemical CNS insult

Twenty patients with traumatic head injury and 20 patients with neurotoxic chemical exposure completed a 68-item Behavior Inventory listing preinsult versus postinsult behavior presence or absence for each item. Forty controls completed the same inventory, covering approximately the same intervals of time involved with CNS insult group. Whereas controls showed nonsignificant behavior changes on any variable, clinical groups reported significant behavior change on the majority of behavioral variables. There were some differential changes between the two clinical groups. Findings suggest an approach to assessing behavior changes due to CNS insult.