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Stroop Effects in Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury: Selective Attention, Speed of Processing, or Color-Naming? A Meta-analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

Boaz M. Ben-David ,
Linh L.T. Nguyen  and
Pascal H.H.M. van Lieshout
Boaz M. Ben-David*
Affiliation:
Oral Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Toronto, Canada Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Toronto, Canada
Linh L.T. Nguyen
Affiliation:
Oral Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Toronto, Canada
Pascal H.H.M. van Lieshout
Affiliation:
Oral Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Toronto, Canada Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Toronto, Canada Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Boaz M. Ben-David, Oral Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Speech-Language Pathology, 160-500 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1V7, Canada. E-mail: boaz.ben.david@utoronto.ca
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Abstract

The color word Stroop test is the most common tool used to assess selective attention in persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI). A larger Stroop effect for TBI patients, as compared to controls, is generally interpreted as reflecting a decrease in selective attention. Alternatively, it has been suggested that this increase in Stroop effects is influenced by group differences in generalized speed of processing (SOP). The current study describes an overview and meta-analysis of 10 studies, where persons with TBI (N = 324) were compared to matched controls (N = 501) on the Stroop task. The findings confirmed that Stroop interference was significantly larger for TBI groups (p = .008). However, these differences may be strongly biased by TBI-related slowdown in generalized SOP (r2 = .81 in a Brinley analysis). We also found that TBI-related changes in sensory processing may affect group differences. Mainly, a TBI-related increase in the latency difference between reading and naming the font color of a color-neutral word (r2 = .96) was linked to Stroop effects. Our results suggest that, in using Stroop, it seems prudent to control for both sensory factors and SOP to differentiate potential changes in selective attention from other changes following TBI. (JINS, 2011, 17, 354–363)

Keywords

StroopHead injurySelective attentionInformation processingColor perceptionExecutive function
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , 28 February 2011 , pp. 354 - 363
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2011

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