The Impact of mTBI on Word-Finding Ability in Young Adults

Cognitive and linguistic deficits have been found to be present in individuals in the subacute phase of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The present study compared word-finding performance between young adults without a history of mTBI and those with a history of mTBI in the post-subacute phase of injury and examined the relationship between the number of incidents of mTBI and word-finding performance. The Test of Adolescent/Adult Word Finding-Second Edition, Brief Test (TAWF-2, BT) was administered to 33 age and gender matched participants (N=17 mTBI; N=16 controls) to assess word-finding based on timing and accuracy. Participants were divided into four groups based on the number of mTBIs they had experienced in their lifetime from 0 to 3+. There was no significant difference in TAWF-2, BT performance for participants with or without a history of mTBI, regardless of the number of mTBI experienced, in the post-subacute phase of injury.