Abstract
The purpose of this research was to determine if there was evidence of brain impairment in spinal cord injured patients. Further, if there was evidence of brain impairment, the purpose was to determine the areas of functioning that were particularly susceptible to damage. A brief neuropsychological screening battey was compiled, consisting of validated and reliable neuropsychological assessment instruments and administered to 25 Paraplegics, 25 Quadriplegics, and 50 Control subjects. The data revealed that the performances of the Paraplegics and Quadriplegics were in the impaired range of functioning. Analyses of variance confirmed the significant differences in performance on several of the criterion variables. In those cases where there were significant differences between the groups, the data were subjected to post-hoc Newman-Keuls analyses. These analyses confirmed the Quadriplegics were more impaired in their performances than the Paraplegics. In most cases, the Paraplegics performed more poorly than the Control subjects, however the significance of the differences varied. This research revealed that the primary areas of functioning affected were attention/concentration, memory, cognitive flexibility, and difficulties in learning and retaining new information. These findings were consistent with the areas of functioning most commonly impaired in closed head injury.