Objective Measurement of Fatigue Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Findings were largely consistent with previous literature and indicated that while subjective fatigue is associated with poor performance in individuals with TBI, it is not associated with objective decline in performance of mental tasks.

Mental fatigue and impaired cognitive function after an acquired brain injury

“…Ashman et al. (Ashman et al., 2008). reported improved response speed for controls from pre‐ to posttest within a single assessment period, while no improvement was found for those suffering from fatigue after a TBI.…”

“…This finding is in accordance with other studies proposing that subjective fatigue after TBI and stroke correlates with poor performance on single tests for attention and processing speed (Ziino and Ponsford, 2006a,b; Belmont et al., 2009; Azouvi et al., 2004; Ashman et al., 2008; Johansson et al., 2009; Park et al., 1999; Ponsford et al., 2011; Johansson & Rönnbäck, 2012). However, it is difficult to determine whether the impairment in cognitive function is due to fatigue or the injury per se or a combination of the two.…”

“…The selection of tests was based on previous studies reporting information processing speed, attention, and working memory as the cognitive functions most susceptible after an acquired brain injury (Mathias, Beall, & Bigler, 2004), and impaired performance also related to fatigue after a brain injury (Ziino and Ponsford, 2006a; Ashman et al., 2008; Johansson et al., 2009). The interest in this study was to study mental fatigue, comparing pre‐ and posttest results between the mental fatigue group and the controls.…”

“…Azouvi and co‐authors proposed that mentally‐tiring activities after brain injury are attributable to reduced resources and that patients who have sustained a brain injury also describe mental activity as more energy demanding than healthy people (Azouvi et al., 2004). In an assessment of decreased cognitive function combined with mental fatigue, it has been proposed that subjective fatigue after TBI or mild TBI correlates with poor performance in attention tests and reduced processing speed (Ziino and Ponsford, 2006a,b; Belmont et al., 2009; Azouvi et al., 2004; Ashman et al., 2008; Johansson, Berglund, & Rönnbäck, 2009; Park, Moscovich, & Robertson, 1999; Ponsford, Cameron, Fitzgerald, Grant, & Mikocka‐Walus, 2011). A group of individuals who had sustained a TBI performed more slowly on a complex attention test, made more errors, and reported a higher level of subjective fatigue (Ziino and Ponsford, 2006a).…”

“…Repetition of a computerized test with simultaneous demand on divided attention and working memory over a short period of 4 minutes showed an interaction effect, with the controls improving their speed, while this was not found for those suffering from mental fatigue after a mild TBI (Johansson & Rönnbäck, 2015). Practice increased the response speed over time (test period in total 3.5 hr) for the controls, while this was not the case for those suffering from fatigue after a TBI (Ashman et al., 2008). Furthermore, a diurnal decline in cognitive function was reported for multiple sclerosis and stroke patients suffering from fatigue compared with controls (Claros‐Salinas et al., 2010).…”