Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026
Detecting Behavioral Deficits in Rats After Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: January 30, 2018
Early prediction of language impairment following traumatic brain injury
Joanne Leblanc1, Elaine De Guise, Mitra Feyz
1Traumatic Brain Injury Program, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, Qudbec, Canada. joanne.leblanc@mcgill.ca
Primary Objective:
This study investigated which factors collected early in the acute care setting (age, education, cerebral imaging, Glasgow Coma Scale score) would predict initial impairments of language comprehension and expression in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) of all severity.
Methods And Procedures:
Results of language tests carried out during the patients' stay in an acute tertiary trauma centre were obtained. These tests measured performance in the areas of confrontation naming, auditory comprehension, semantic and letter category naming and comprehension of verbal absurdities. Data for the predictive variables were gathered by retrospective chart review. Stepwise multiple linear regressions were carried out on the predictive variables.
Main Outcomes And Results:
Education and TBI severity as measured with the GCS score were the most significant factors predicting language deficits in the acute care setting.
Conclusions:
These findings will serve to guide health care professionals in predicting prognosis for cognitive-communication deficits post-TBI and in planning for appropriate resources in speech-language pathology to meet these patients' needs.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
01:27Language and Cognition
01:28Traumatic Brain Injury l: Introduction
01:10Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...