Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-42gr6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T06:44:12.828Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The effects of distraction on prospective remembering following traumatic brain injury assessed in a simulated naturalistic environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2006

ROBERT G. KNIGHT
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
NICKOLAI TITOV
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
MARIA CRAWFORD
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Abstract

The aim of this investigation was to assess deficits in prospective remembering following chronic traumatic brain injuries (TBI), under conditions of high and low distraction. We constructed a virtual shopping precinct from photographs, sounds, and video segments linked together. The street was divided into halves, a low distraction zone and a high distraction zone (with increased visual and auditory noise). Twenty persons with TBI (7 severe, 7 very severe, 6 extremely severe) and 20 matched controls completed ongoing and prospective memory tasks while “walking” along the street. In the ongoing task, participants were given ten errands to complete with a checklist accessible at any time. The prospective component required responding to three targets that appeared repeatedly. As predicted, the TBI group performed both the ongoing and the prospective components of the street task poorly compared with the controls and was more affected by distractions. The results suggest that the real-life deficits in memory skills reported by persons with TBI may become more apparent when remembering engages executive processes and that computer simulations can be used to construct sensitive measures of practical memory abilities. (JINS, 2006, 12, 8–16.)

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2006 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alderman, N., Burgess, P.W., Knight, C., & Henman, C. (2003). Ecological validity of simplified version of the multiple errands shopping test. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 9, 3144.Google Scholar
Brooks, B.M., McNeil, J.E., Rose, F.D., Greenwood, R.J., Attree, E.A., & Leadbetter, A.G. (1999). Route learning in a case of amnesia: A preliminary investigation into the efficacy of training in a virtual environment. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 9, 6376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, B.M., Rose, F.D., Potter, J., Jayawardena, S., & Morling, A. (2004). Assessing stroke patients' prospective memory using virtual reality. Brain Injury, 18, 391401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cockburn, J. (1995). Task interruption in prospective memory: A frontal lobe function? Cortex, 31, 8797.Google Scholar
Ellis, J. & Kvavilashvili, L. (2000). Prospective memory in 2000: Past, present, and future directions. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 14, S1S9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrimond, S.J., Knight, R.G., & Titov, N. (2006). The effects of aging on a prospective remembering task using naturalistic stimuli. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20, (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleming, J.M., Shum, D., Strong, J., & Lightbody, S. (2005). Prospective memory rehabilitation for adults with traumatic brain injury: A compensatory training programme. Brain Injury, 19, 110.Google Scholar
Graf, P. & Uttl, B. (2001). Prospective memory: A new focus for research. Consciousness and Cognition, 10, 437450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groot, Y.C.T., Wilson, B.A., Evans, J., & Watson, P. (2002). Prospective memory functioning in people with and without brain injury. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8, 645654.Google Scholar
Jennett, B. & Teasdale, G. (1981). Management of head injuries. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
Knight, R.G., Harnett, M., & Titov, N. (2005). The effects of traumatic brain injury on the predicted and actual performance of a test of prospective remembering. Brain Injury, 19, 2738.Google Scholar
McDaniel, M.A. & Einstein, G.O. (2000). Strategic and automatic processes in prospective memory retrieval: A multiprocess framework. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 14, S127S144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDaniel, M.A., Glisky, E.L., Rubin, S.R., Guynn, J., & Routhieaux, B.C. (1999). Prospective memory: A neuropsychology study. Neuropsychology, 13, 103110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDermott, K. & Knight, R.G. (2004). The effects of aging on a measure of prospective remembering using naturalistic stimuli. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 18, 349362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ponsford, J., Sloan, S., & Snow, P. (1995). Traumatic brain injury: Rehabilitation for everyday adaptive living. Hove, England: Erlbaum.
Rizzo, A.A., Schultheis, M., Kerns, K., & Mateer, C. (2004). Analysis of assets for virtual reality applications in neuropsychology. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 14, 207239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruff, R.M. & Allen, C.A. (1996). Ruff 2 & 7 Selective attention Test. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Roediger, H.L. (1996). Prospective memory and episodic memory. In M. Brandimonte, G.O. Einstein, & M.A. McDaniel (Eds.), Prospective memory: Theory and applications, (pp. 149155). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shallice, T. & Burgess, P.W. (1991). Deficits in strategy application following frontal lobe damage in man. Brain, 114, 727741.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shum, D., Valentine, M., & Cutmore, T. (1999). Performance of individuals with severe long-term traumatic brain injury on time-, and event-, and activity-based prospective memory tasks. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 21, 4958.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, R.E. (2003). The cost of remembering to remember in event-based prospective memory: Investigating the capacity demands of delayed intention performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 29, 347361.Google Scholar
Titov, N. & Knight, R.G. (2000). A procedure for testing prospective remembering in persons with neurological impairments. Brain Injury, 14, 877886.Google Scholar
Titov, N. & Knight, R.G. (2001). A video-based procedure for assessing prospective memory. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 15, 6183.3.0.CO;2-Y>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Titov, N. & Knight, R.G. (2005). A computer-based procedure for assessing prospective remembering in cases with neurological injuries: The virtual street. Brain Injury, 19, 315322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, B.A. (1999). Case studies in neuropsychological rehabilitation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wilson, B.A., Alderman, N., Burgess, P.W., Emslie, H., & Evans, J.J. (1996). Behavioural assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome. St. Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test Company.