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Effects of single-dose methylphenidate on cognitive performance in patients with traumatic brain injury: a
Yun-Hee Kim1, Myoung-Hwan Ko, Seung-Yong Na
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. yunkim@smc.samsung.co.kr
Objectives:
To determine the effect of a single dose of methylphenidate on the cognitive performance of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and particularly on working memory and visuospatial attention.
Design:
A double-blind placebo-controlled study. The subjects were randomly divided into an experimental group taking methylphenidate and a control group taking a placebo.
Setting:
The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of a university hospital.
Subjects:
Eighteen subjects with TBI (16 male and two female) were enrolled.
Interventions:
The patients were given 20 mg methylphenidate or a placebo. Cognitive assessments were performed at three times: before the medication as a baseline, 2 h after medication and at follow-up (48 h later).
Main Measures:
Cognitive assessments consisted of working memory tasks and endogenous visuospatial attention tasks designed using SuperLabPro 2.0 software. Response accuracy and reaction time were measured.
Results:
There were significant improvements in response accuracy in the methylphenidate group compared with the placebo group for both the working memory and visuospatial attention tasks. A significant decrease in the reaction time was also observed in the methylphenidate group only for the working memory task.
Conclusions:
The administration of single-dose methylphenidate has an effect in improving cognitive functioning following a TBI. The effects were most prominent regarding the reaction time of the working memory.
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