Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026
A Metric Test for Assessing Spatial Working Memory in Adult Rats Following Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: May 7, 2021
Treatment of metaphor interpretation deficits subsequent to traumatic brain injury
Hiram Brownell1, Kristine Lundgren, Carol Cayer-Meade
1Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (Dr Brownell); Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts (Drs Brownell, Lundgren, and Katz and Mss Cayer-Meade and Milione); VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, Massachusetts (Drs Brownell and Lundgren and Mss Cayer-Meade and Milione); The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro (Dr Lundgren); Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, Massachusetts (Dr Katz); and State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY (Dr Kearns).
Objective:
To improve oral interpretation of metaphors by patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Design:
Both single subject experimental design and group analysis.
Setting:
Patients' homes.
Participants:
Eight adult patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury sustained 3 to 20 years before testing.
Intervention:
The Metaphor Training Program consisted typically of 10 baseline sessions, 3 to 9 1-hour sessions of structured intervention, and 10 posttraining baseline sessions. Training used extensive practice with simple graphic displays to illustrate semantic associations.
Main Outcome Measures:
Quality of orally produced metaphor interpretation and accuracy of line orientation judgments served as dependent measures obtained during baseline, training, posttraining, and at a 3- to 4-month follow-up. Untrained line orientation judgments provided a control measure.
Results:
Group data showed significant improvement in metaphor interpretation but not in line orientation. Six of 8 patients individually demonstrated significant improvement in metaphor interpretation. Gains persisted for 3 of the 6 patients at the 3- to 4-month follow-up.
Conclusion:
The Metaphor Training Program can improve cognitive-communication performance for individuals with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Results support the potential for treating patients' residual cognitive-linguistic deficits.
