Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can potentially lead to many long-term symptoms such as depression, difficulty concentrating, memory problems, headaches, and even dizziness. Recently, according to Neurology Now, a cognitive training program was designed that may help improve these symptoms even 10 years after the injury. Neurology Now relied in part on the University of Texas at Dallas' Center for BrainHealth. Researches developed and tested an 18-hour training program called SMART (Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training) over a period of 8 weeks, with a group of TBI patients that mostly had the initial injury over 10 years ago.
During the study, 31 TBI patients participated in the SMART program. All of the patients had cognitive or physiological symptoms, such as difficulty carrying out daily tasks and problem solving. During the program, patients learned multiple strategies that would help them improve their attention, reasoning, and innovative thinking skills. To improve the patients' concentration, researchers taught the patients to identify and block out distractions, which would then help you focus better on a single task.
After the eight week program, the TBI patients took a reading test, and found that they improved their ability to gasp abstract concepts by 20 percent, and they also improved their memory by 30 percent. In addition to this, researchers found that patients who participated had a more than 25 percent increase in blood flow to the affected brain regions. If future tests and studies confirm these results, then the SMART program could be added the growing amount of cognitive training programs for treating the long term effects of traumatic brain injuries.
“These cognitive and psychological improvements could also have a positive impact on one’s confidence, cognitive control, sense of well-being, and self-worth” - Researchers of the SMART program
If you have been injured in a car accident and receive a traumatic brain injury, contact a lawyer today at The Michigan Law Firm, PLLC. Our accident attorneys specialize in all types of personal injury cases. Call 844.4MI.FIRM for a free consultation today.