The effects of concussion on rapid picture naming in children

ABSTRACT

Primary Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to examine children’s accuracy and speed when asked to name rapidly images following a concussion. The authors predicted that children with a recent concussion would not differ in accuracy from peers, but would be slower.

Research Design: Children with and without a recent concussion were compared on their accuracy and speed of naming objects, and speed was correlated with time since injury.

Methods and Procedures: Fifty-eight participants, aged 10–22 years, 32 within one month of concussion and 26 age-matched participants with no history of concussion, rapidly viewed and verbally named 107 illustrations of common objects, and sensitive measures of response time were recorded.

Main Outcomes and Results: Groups did not differ in rate of accuracy, but children with recent injury responded significantly more slowly. A trajectory of recovery was calculated, providing qualified evidence for a longer timeline of recovery than the typical two-week period.

Conclusions: These findings affirm the presence of this naming latency effect in children, explore the duration of this effect over the course of recovery, and add nuance to inconsistently reported chronic naming deficits following concussion, informing recommendations for return to full academic and recreational participation.

KEYWORDS:

• Brain injury
• language

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to graciously thank Robert G. Graw, Jr., for facilitating access to the clinical population of interest. We also thank Emily Shroads for her assistance with recruitment and facilitation of remote data collection. Further, we wish to acknowledge the many undergraduate researchers who participated in data collection, including Bradley Hanson, Abbie Mathews, Arielle Kazlow, Courtney Romanowski, Samantha Wermers, Paul Woloszyn, Chris Pellegrino and Gurleen Kaur.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.