Post-concussive syndrome: paraclinical signs, subjective symptoms, cognitive functions and MMPI profiles

Abstract

In order to investigate the organic and psychogenic components of post-concussive syndrome (PCS), the subjective complaints, the cognitive findings and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profiles of 53 consecutive mild head injury patients (MHI) with persistent PCS were evaluated. The results seem to suggest the presence of two groups: in the first, minimal lesional signs were associated with more prolonged loss of consciousness (LC) and post-traumatic amnesia (PTA), as well as an MMPI profile not indicative of a neurotic state, whereas in the second the absence of any lesional sign was associated with shorter LC and PTA duration, as well as evidence of neurotic MMPI scores. A female prevalence was observed in the first group and a male prevalence in the other one.

A community survey demonstrated cohort differences in the lifetime prevalence of self-reported head injury

“…This is consistent with clinical studies showing long-term effects of mild HI [22,23,34]; however, other research has not demonstrated an association between such symptoms and reported HI [7,37]. Furthermore, postconcussion syndrome is a controversial area, with some data suggesting it is associated with psychologic characteristics independent of severity of head trauma [38].…”

Cognitive complaints after mild traumatic brain injury: Things are not always what they seem

“…Secondly, cognitive symptom report was associated with higher awareness for experiencing internal bodily sensations in general which supports the assumption that a heightened self-focus may perpetuate postconcussional sequealae [63]. Unlike other studies, however, patient with and without cognitive complaints reported equal levels of neuroticism [25,29,30].…”

“…For example, the presence of depressed mood and anxiety strongly relates to subjective cognitive complaints [26][27][28]. In addition, premorbid personality characteristics like neuroticism seem to make some individuals more prone to experiencing cognitive problems than others [25,29,30]. In MTBI patients, more knowledge is needed about the influence on cognitive system report of potentially relevant forms of emotional distress such as posttraumatic stress, or traits like Type D personality or the disposition to focus on internal bodily sensations [31][32][33].…”

Cognitive performance after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: The impact of poor effort on test results and its relation to distress, personality and litigation

“…For example, state factors like anxiety, depression or fatigue, which are all common in MTBI patients, may decrease effort level [23][24][25]. In addition, trait factors like individual personality structure or general intelligence may be associated with differences in performance style and as such may influence effort level [26][27][28][29].…”