Efficacy of neuropsychological rehabilitation for mild-moderate traumatic brain injury.

The growing literature on cognitive rehabilitation is increasingly demanding more evaluation related to the validity of such therapy. The current research addresses some of the criticisms of previous efficacy studies and provides support for the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation according to a specific treatment protocol employed at an outpatient rehabilitation program. Stringent subject selection criterion were utilized to maximize the validity of the statistical comparisons of selected pre- and post- rehabilitation neuropsychological test scores and cognitive level of functioning. Results supported improvement in performance on selected neuropsychological test scores and cognitive functioning following cognitive rehabilitation. Limited validating evidence for behavioral indicators of level of cognitive functioning were obtained through correlations of behavioral ratings to their corresponding neuropsychological test scores. Results suggest that traditional measures of efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation may be insensitive to the cognitive sequalae of mild head injury due, in part, to compensatory strategies invoked by the subjects.