AUTHOR=Cook Lori G. , Chapman Sandra B. , Elliott Alan C. , Evenson Nellie N. , Vinton Kami TITLE=Cognitive Gains from Gist Reasoning Training in Adolescents with Chronic-Stage Traumatic Brain Injury JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=5 YEAR=2014 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2014.00087 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2014.00087 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=
Adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI) typically demonstrate good recovery of previously acquired skills. However, higher-order and later emergent cognitive functions are often impaired and linked to poor outcomes in academic and social/behavioral domains. Few control trials exist that test cognitive treatment effectiveness at chronic recovery stages. The current pilot study compared the effects of two forms of cognitive training, gist reasoning (top-down) versus rote memory learning (bottom-up), on ability to abstract meanings, recall facts, and utilize core executive functions (i.e., working memory, inhibition) in 20 adolescents (ages 12–20) who were 6 months or longer post-TBI. Participants completed eight 45-min sessions over 1 month. After training, the gist reasoning group (