Cerebral symptoms following whiplash injury.

Fifty-two patients suffering from various chronic disturbances after whiplash injury were studied retrospectively. Frequencies and coincidences of the complaints and symptoms were calculated. From those 26 patients who had reported cognitive disturbances 18 were examined with an extensive neuropsychological test battery. The results showed deficits mainly in the attention and concentration tests, to a lesser extent in the memory tests and least in the tests of higher cognitive functions. The findings were discussed as being compatible with damage to frontobasal cerebral structures and the upper brainstem as a consequence of the whiplash injury.