Biomaterial Database

Neuropsychological outcomes of traumatic brain injury and substance abuse in a New Zealand prison population. 1998

T V Barnfield, and J M Leathem

Adult Mental Health Service, Hutt Valley Health, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

Fifty subjects with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and/or substance use, completed neuropsychological measures of short and long term verbal and visual memory, information processing, motor speed and co-ordination, executive functioning, and malingering. All subjects performed below norms on tests of verbal memory and verbal abstract thinking, but overall no differences were found due to either severity of TBI or level of substance use. Maori subjects obtained the lowest scores on tests of verbal ability, but also reported higher rates of TBI and substance use, which is presumed to account for this result. In conclusion, prison populations seem to have disproportionately high rates of TBI, recurrent TBI, and substance use, compared to the general population. Further, there are a group of individuals who have experienced both TBI and substance abuse, with associated impairments in verbal memory and learning, abstract thinking, and who report problems with general memory and socialization. These difficulties may affect functioning both in prison and following release.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007858	Learning	Relatively permanent change in behavior that is the result of past experience or practice. The concept includes the acquisition of knowledge.	Phenomenography
D008297	Male		Males
D008306	Malingering	Simulation of symptoms of illness or injury with intent to deceive in order to obtain a goal, e.g., a claim of physical illness to avoid jury duty.
D008568	Memory	Complex mental function having four distinct phases: (1) memorizing or learning, (2) retention, (3) recall, and (4) recognition. Clinically, it is usually subdivided into immediate, recent, and remote memory.
D008606	Mental Processes	Conceptual functions or thinking in all its forms.	Information Processing, Human,Human Information Processing
D009048	Motor Skills	Performance of complex motor acts.	Motor Skill,Skill, Motor,Skills, Motor
D009484	Neuropsychology	A branch of psychology which investigates the correlation between experience or behavior and the basic neurophysiological processes. The term neuropsychology stresses the dominant role of the nervous system. It is a more narrowly defined field than physiological psychology or psychophysiology.	Neuropsychologies
D009520	New Zealand	A group of islands in the southwest Pacific. Its capital is Wellington. It was discovered by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642 and circumnavigated by Cook in 1769. Colonized in 1840 by the New Zealand Company, it became a British crown colony in 1840 until 1907 when colonial status was terminated. New Zealand is a partly anglicized form of the original Dutch name Nieuw Zeeland, new sea land, possibly with reference to the Dutch province of Zeeland. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p842 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p378)
D011329	Prisoners	Persons deprived of their liberty; those held is against their will, or who are kept in confinement or custody.	Detained Persons,Hostages,Imprisoned Individuals,Incarcerated Individuals,Inmates,Detained Person,Hostage,Imprisoned Individual,Incarcerated Individual,Individual, Imprisoned,Individual, Incarcerated,Inmate,Person, Detained,Prisoner
D012008	Recurrence	The return of a sign, symptom, or disease after a remission.	Recrudescence,Relapse,Recrudescences,Recurrences,Relapses