Attentional deficits in concussion

Primary objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine deficits in the alerting, orienting and executive components of attention in individuals who have recently suffered a concussion.

Research design: A group design was used in which the performance by individuals with concussion was compared to control subjects matched for age, height, weight and activity level.

Methods and procedures: Participants completed the Attentional Network Test (ANT) that breaks down attention into alerting, orienting and executive components. Reaction time and response accuracy were the dependent variables.

Main outcomes and results: It was found that only the orienting and executive components of attention were affected by concussion, whereas the alerting component was normal. Furthermore, participants with concussion required a significantly longer time than controls to initiate correct responses.

Conclusions: These results suggest that the orienting and executive components of attention are most susceptible to the effects of concussion.