This study employed a correlational and group comparison design to investigate whether self-report of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a sample of male prisoners screened using the Brain Injury Screening Index (BISI) was associated with impaired cognitive performance on standardised questionnaires and neuropsychological tests. A total of 139 male prisoners who reported having suffered a TBI in the BISI were interviewed, and completed further questionnaires and neuropsychological assessments. Their results were compared to 50 prisoners who had no reported history of TBI. The results of the screening questionnaire correlated with responses in a follow-up interview, with self-report questionnaires of neurobehavioural disorder (.31 to .50) and neuropsychological measures (-.24 to -.45). The "TBI Index", an indicator summarising the number and severity of self-reported injuries in a single score, also correlated well with scores on formal neuropsychological tests (-.20 to -.42). Self-report of traumatic brain injury among prisoners is consistently associated with measurable neuropsychological and neurobehavioural disability. The implications of these findings for current practice in identifying and referring individuals to specialist services are considered.

Available online 15 September 2016The bilingual advantage has been subject of research repeatedly over the last decade. Many studies have supported the idea of the existence of a higher functioning in domain general cognitive abilities among bilingual samples as compared to monolingual samples. However, this idea has been recently challenged by a number of scholars, and a recent body of evidence suggests that the acquisition of a new language does not necessarily involve an enhancement of domain-general non-linguistic abilities. In the current study we aimed at exploring the relationship between language learning and switching ability in elderly monolingual participants who learned a second language during a whole academic year. A colour-shape switching task was used as a measure of switching ability and was administered twice in a pre-test/post-test design, both to the critical group of seniors attending a language-learning course on a regular basis and to a group of age-matched monolingual seniors who did not attend to any language-learning course and that served as controls. Results showed that switching costs in the post-test were not significantly different from those in the pre-test in either the experimental or the control groups, demonstrating that the acquisition of a second language in the elderly does not necessarily lead to an enhancement of switching ability as measured by switching costs. We acknowledge the need of further longitudinal L2 training studies to reach clear conclusions on the effects of language learning in domain-general executive control.This research has been partially funded by grants PSI2015-65689-P and SEV-2015-0490 from the Spanish Government, PI2015-1-27 from the Basque Government, ERC-AdG-295362 grant from the European Research Council, the AThEME project funded by the European Union (grant number 613465), and by a research grant from the BBVA Foundation

Reading fluency is one of the basic processes of learning to read. Children begin to develop fluency when they are able to form orthographic representations of words, which provide direct, smooth, and fast reading. Dyslexic children of transparent orthographic systems are mainly characterized by poor reading fluency (Cuetos & Suárez-Coalla 2009; Spinelli, De Luca, Di Filippo, Mancini, Martelli, & Zoccolotti, 2005; Wimmer, 1993). Therefore, the main problem for these children could be the difficulty in developing orthographic representations of the words they read. The aim of this study was to test the ability of dyslexic Spanish-speaking children (whose native language is Spanish) to develop orthographic representations and determine if the context helps them. For this, two experiments were conducted with a group of 100 children, 7-12 years of age. The groups were comprised of 20 dyslexics, 40 chronological age-matched controls and 40 reading level-matched controls. In the first experiment, eight unfamiliar words (four short and four long) were presented six times within the context of a story. In the second experiment, eight pseudowords were presented on a computer and the children had to read them aloud. In both experiments, the reading and articulation times of experimental and control stimuli were compared, before and after the training. Children without dyslexia showed a decrease of the influence of length of word on reading speed, indicating a lexical reading, while for dyslexic children, the influence of length remained unchanged. These results appeared when the stimuli were presented in the context of a story as well as when presented in isolation. In short, our results describe that dyslexic children of transparent orthographic systems have problems in developing orthographic representations of words.

Primary objectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the cost-benefits of a residential post-acute neurobehavioural rehabilitation programme and its effects on care needs and social participation of adults with acquired brain injury.Research designRetrospective multi-centre design.Methods and proceduresData on occupation, adaptability and level of support required were collected at admission, discharge and 6-months follow-up. Cost analysis was performed on cost estimates based on level of support.Main outcomes and resultsSignificant gains were observed in all areas of functioning, with individuals progressing towards higher levels of independence and more participation in society upon discharge.ConclusionsCost-benefits of up to £1.13 million were demonstrated for individuals admitted to rehabilitation within a year of sustaining a brain injury and of up to £0.86 million for those admitted more than 1 year after injury. Functional gains and reductions in levels of care required upon discharge were maintained 6 months later. These results demonstrate that post-acute neurobehavioural rehabilitation can have a positive impact on the lives of individuals with brain injury and that the associated costs are off-set by significant savings in the longer-term.