Background and objective:Adults with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) often show deficits in executive function (EF), including the ability to inhibit, switch, and attend to task relevant information. Although performances differences between bilinguals and monolinguals have been observed in EF tasks, there is little research on the effect of TBI on EF in bilinguals. In this study, an ecologically valid standardized measure and experimental computerized tasks of EF were administered to Spanish-English bilingual adults with and without history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).Method:Twenty-two bilinguals with a history of mTBI [mean age=20.1 years, SD=3.7; education=13.4 years, SD=0.7] and 20 control bilinguals [mean age=20.8 years, SD=3.6; education=13.7 years, SD=1.1], matched for age and education, completed language proficiency questionnaires, the Functional Assessment of Verbal Reasoning and Executive Strategies (FAVRES), English and Spanish language assessments, and a Flanker task (a test of inhibition).Results:Performance was analyzed using analyses of covariance. The results revealed that bilinguals with a history of mTBI performed worse on both the standardized assessment (FAVRES) and inhibition task. Interestingly, self-reported EF deficits were consistent with performance on these measures.Conclusion:The findings of this study provide useful information regarding assessment of EF deficits in bilinguals with a history mTBI. Computerized experimental tasks of EF may also prove useful in the assessment of EF in individuals with mTBI.

中文翻译：

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有轻度脑外伤史的双语成人执行功能评估

背景和目的：有创伤性脑损伤 (TBI) 病史的成年人通常表现出执行功能 (EF) 的缺陷，包括抑制、转换和关注任务相关信息的能力。尽管在 EF 任务中已经观察到双语者和单语者之间的表现差异，但关于 TBI 对双语者 EF 影响的研究很少。在这项研究中，对有和没有轻度创伤性脑损伤 (mTBI) 病史的西班牙-英语双语成年人进行生态有效的标准化测量和实验性计算机任务。方法：22 名有 mTBI 病史的双语者 [平均年龄=20.1 年，标清=3.7; 教育=13.4年，标清=0.7] 和 20 名对照双语者 [平均年龄 =20.8 岁，标清=3.6; 教育=13.7年，标清=1.1]，匹配年龄和教育，完成语言能力问卷，语言推理和执行策略的功能评估（FAVRES）、英语和西班牙语评估，以及 Flanker 任务（抑制测试）。结果：使用协方差分析分析性能。结果显示，有 mTBI 病史的双语者在标准化评估中表现较差（法弗雷斯) 和抑制任务。有趣的是，自我报告的 EF 赤字与这些措施的表现一致。结论：本研究的结果为评估有 mTBI 病史的双语者的 EF 赤字提供了有用的信息。EF 的计算机化实验任务也可能证明对评估 mTBI 个体的 EF 有用。