Visual Spatial Working Memory in Patients with Mild Brain Injury Using Benton Visual Retention Test: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background and Cognitive problems after traumatic brain injury may affect all aspects of life in injured people. One of these problems is visuospatial working memory deficit which was investigated in this study on patients with mild head injury.
We conducted a cohort study in 60 patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and 60 healthy cases in Trauma Research Center (TRC) affiliated with Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The subjects were followed for 6 months after which Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT) (form C, administration methods A and D) was used for their assessment. T test, Chi-square test and repeated One-way ANOVA were used for the analysis of data. P≤0.05 was considered significant.
The two groups were significantly different in their correct scores in administrations A and D of Benton test (P≤ 0.05). The results indicated a correlation between the sites of injury and number of correct scores in visual memories of MTBI patients (P=0.003).
Impaired spatial visual memory in MTBI patients in concordance with other findings in this field are in favor of significant functional problems in this group which mandates a more prolonged systematic approach and better follow up plans to overcome many hidden difficulties these people experience.