Verbal Memory in Traumatic Brain Injury: Associations With Age, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, and Antidepressant...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Episodic memory decline is common in normal aging, Alzheimer's disease, and after traumatic brain injury (TBI).
• TBI can accelerate cognitive decline, but the influence of co-occurring post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychotropic medication use on this trajectory remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether age-related decline in delayed verbal memory is more pronounced in adults with a TBI history compared to those without.
• To explore PTSD status and the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs/SNRIs) as moderators of verbal memory performance in aging adults.

Main Methods:

• Observational, cross-sectional study involving 56 adults (ages 30-65) from a VA Medical Center and surrounding community.
• Participants included 28 adults with a history of TBI (mild to moderate) and 28 demographically matched controls without TBI.
• Delayed verbal recall was the primary outcome measure, with analyses examining TBI status, age, and interactions with PTSD and SSRI/SNRI use.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in verbal memory performance was found between participants with and without a TBI history.
• A trend towards poorer memory performance with age was observed in TBI participants not taking SSRIs/SNRIs.
• Participants with TBI, PTSD, and taking SSRIs/SNRIs showed improved performance with age.

Conclusions:

• Psychiatric comorbidities like PTSD and the use of psychotropic medications (SSRIs/SNRIs) are crucial factors to consider when assessing cognitive aging in individuals with TBI.
• Further longitudinal research is needed to elucidate the mediating roles of traumatic stress and psychotropic medications in cognitive aging trajectories following TBI.