Affiliations: The Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, Knoxville, TN
Note: [1] We would like to acknowledge the contribution of Jeffrey D. Vantrease, who wrote the software program for the Iconic Memory procedure and measurement.
Abstract: Previous research suggests that traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in impairment of iconic memory abilities. This raises serious implications for brain injury rehabilitation. Most cognitive rehabilitation programs do not include iconic memory training. Instead it is common for cognitive rehabilitation programs to focus on attention and concentration skills, memory skills, and visual scanning skills. This study compared the iconic memory skills of brain-injury survivors and control subjects who all reached criterion levels of visual scanning skills. This involved previous training for the brain-injury survivors using popular visual scanning programs that allowed them to visually scan with response time and accuracy within normal limits. Control subjects required only minimal training to reach normal limits criteria. This comparison allows for the dissociation of visual scanning skills and iconic memory skills. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for cognitive rehabilitation and the relationship between visual scanning training and iconic memory skills.
