Inhibitory control differences following mild head injury.

Complex inhibitory control, defined as the ability to inhibit a planned or ongoing action, was assessed in a sample of individuals with a history of mild head injury, case-matched with normal control subjects for age and gender. This central act of control was assessed using a modification of the stop-signal paradigm. The group with mild head injury took longer to inhibit their on going action and reported more accidents than the normal control subjects. The group that reported having had a mild head injury did not differ in terms of their go reaction time, number of correct responses, handedness, education level, or reported learning disabilities. Limitations of this design and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.