Anoxic encephalopathy: a neurobehavioural study in rehabilitation

This study examined an operational conditioning paradigm designed to train procedural learning channels in a patient with anoxic encephalopathy. Prior to treatment the patient had been incontinent to bowel and bladder incontinent, minimally participant in daily activities and aggressive toward staff and residents for two years. Previous rehabilitation attempts had been unsuccessful in changing these behaviours. Based on the literature, it was hypothesized that through operant conditioning the patient could be trained on three behaviours: 1) bowel and bladder continence 2) activity level and 3) level of aggression. Results indicated that at a 4 month interval following the initial training, the patient had improved in all areas of functioning.