Disturbances in affective communication following brain injury

Primary objective: Disturbances in affect expression and perception are often clinically observed in brain injured patients during the acute stages of recovery. This study examined whether such disturbances are related to the acute nature of the injury or specific type of injury in patients with stroke (CVA) versus traumatic brain injury (TBI). Research design : Retrospective cohort of patients seen for inpatient rehabilitation following brain injury. Procedures : Participants were 27 CVA and 27 TBI patients. Their performance was compared to 27 normal controls on the BNI Screen for Higher Cerebral Functions. Outcomes and results : While both patient groups performed significantly worse than the control group on affect expression, perception and spontaneity ( p <0.01), the CVA group performed significantly worse than the TBI group ( p <0.01) on affect perception. Results of this study document disturbances in affect in brain injured patients and highlight the importance of assessing affect during early recovery.