Researchers launch major brain injury study
massey-university
Mon Feb 23 2009 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Researchers launch major brain injury study
Monday, 23 February 2009, 10:18 am
Press Release: Massey University
Monday, February 23, 2009
Researchers launch major brain injury study
Psychology researchers are beginning a study of traumatic brain injury that they hope will help in the rehabilitation process by highlighting how impaired cognitive processes relate to difficulty in performing daily tasks.
The study, based in the Wellington region, is being carried out by PhD student Mark Lewis (pictured) and Massey’s Wellington Psychology Clinic director Dr Duncan Babbage.
Mr Lewis says many people experience cognitive difficulties following a traumatic brain injury. “Some may have problems remembering things, others difficulty concentrating and still others may have a hard time planning and organising their daily lives.”
After a brain injury, neuropsychologists typically ask people to complete a series of tests in order to examine their cognitive strengths and difficulties.
“Regrettably, there are currently few measures that neuropsychologists can use for fine-grained analysis of the way cognitive difficulties affect everyday functioning,” Mr Lewis says. “Understanding the specific ways in which functional cognition is disrupted would allow us to plan even more effective rehabilitation interventions in the future.”
The researchers are looking for people over the age of 16 who have never experienced a brain injury to help in the study. Participants also need to be good speakers of English and have no significant visual impairments.
Mr Lewis says participants will be asked to do three things.
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
-Perform a series of daily activities. These might involve preparing food, organising activities or finding information from different places.
-Complete a survey about the daily activities they perform and some of the strategies they use to help them complete those tasks.
-Complete several more formal tasks that are routinely used with people who have experienced a brain injury.
Participation in the study will take about two hours.
ENDS
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}
Using Scoop for work?
Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.
Join Pro Individual Find out more
Find more from Massey University on InfoPages.