Response to Training in Emotion Recognition Function for Mild TBI/PTSD Survivors: Pilot Study
Background/Objectives: For those with comorbid mild traumatic brain injury/post-traumatic stress disorder (mTBI/PTSD), deficits are common with regard to recognition of emotion expression in others. These deficits can cause isolation and suicidal ideation. For mTBI/PTSD, there is a dearth of informa...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Brain Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/7/728 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849303497095249920 |
|---|---|
| author | J. Kay Waid-Ebbs Kristen Lewandowski Yi Zhang Samantha Graham Janis J. Daly |
| author_facet | J. Kay Waid-Ebbs Kristen Lewandowski Yi Zhang Samantha Graham Janis J. Daly |
| author_sort | J. Kay Waid-Ebbs |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background/Objectives: For those with comorbid mild traumatic brain injury/post-traumatic stress disorder (mTBI/PTSD), deficits are common with regard to recognition of emotion expression in others. These deficits can cause isolation and suicidal ideation. For mTBI/PTSD, there is a dearth of information regarding effective treatment. In pilot work, we developed and tested an innovative treatment to improve recognition of both affect (facial expression of emotion) and prosody (spoken expression of emotion). Methods: We enrolled eight Veterans with mTBI/PTSD and administered eight treatment sessions. Measures included the following: Florida Affect Battery (FAB), a test of emotion recognition of facial affect and spoken prosody; Attention Index of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS); and Emotion Recognition Test (ERT), a speed test of facial emotion recognition. Results: There was a significant treatment response according to the FAB (<i>p</i> = 0.01, effect size = 1.2); RBANS attention index (<i>p</i> = 0.04, effect size = 0.99); and trending toward significance for the ERT (0.17, effect size 0.75). Participants were able to engage actively in all eight sessions and provided qualitative evidence supporting generalization of the training to interpersonal relationships. Conclusions: Our data show promising clinical potential and warrant future research, given the importance of developing novel interventions to train and restore recognition of emotion in Veterans with mTBI/PTSD. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-71d6caf0be3642aeb4801032b2ff624d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-71d6caf0be3642aeb4801032b2ff624d2025-08-20T03:58:26ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252025-07-0115772810.3390/brainsci15070728Response to Training in Emotion Recognition Function for Mild TBI/PTSD Survivors: Pilot StudyJ. Kay Waid-Ebbs0Kristen Lewandowski1Yi Zhang2Samantha Graham3Janis J. Daly4Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Rehabilitation Research and Development, Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Gainesville, FL 32608, USADepartment of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USADepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA), Rehabilitation Research and Development, Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Gainesville, FL 32608, USADepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA), Rehabilitation Research and Development, Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Gainesville, FL 32608, USADepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA), Rehabilitation Research and Development, Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Gainesville, FL 32608, USABackground/Objectives: For those with comorbid mild traumatic brain injury/post-traumatic stress disorder (mTBI/PTSD), deficits are common with regard to recognition of emotion expression in others. These deficits can cause isolation and suicidal ideation. For mTBI/PTSD, there is a dearth of information regarding effective treatment. In pilot work, we developed and tested an innovative treatment to improve recognition of both affect (facial expression of emotion) and prosody (spoken expression of emotion). Methods: We enrolled eight Veterans with mTBI/PTSD and administered eight treatment sessions. Measures included the following: Florida Affect Battery (FAB), a test of emotion recognition of facial affect and spoken prosody; Attention Index of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS); and Emotion Recognition Test (ERT), a speed test of facial emotion recognition. Results: There was a significant treatment response according to the FAB (<i>p</i> = 0.01, effect size = 1.2); RBANS attention index (<i>p</i> = 0.04, effect size = 0.99); and trending toward significance for the ERT (0.17, effect size 0.75). Participants were able to engage actively in all eight sessions and provided qualitative evidence supporting generalization of the training to interpersonal relationships. Conclusions: Our data show promising clinical potential and warrant future research, given the importance of developing novel interventions to train and restore recognition of emotion in Veterans with mTBI/PTSD.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/7/728traumatic brain injury (TBI)post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)emotion functionaffect recognitionprosody recognition |
| spellingShingle | J. Kay Waid-Ebbs Kristen Lewandowski Yi Zhang Samantha Graham Janis J. Daly Response to Training in Emotion Recognition Function for Mild TBI/PTSD Survivors: Pilot Study Brain Sciences traumatic brain injury (TBI) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) emotion function affect recognition prosody recognition |
| title | Response to Training in Emotion Recognition Function for Mild TBI/PTSD Survivors: Pilot Study |
| title_full | Response to Training in Emotion Recognition Function for Mild TBI/PTSD Survivors: Pilot Study |
| title_fullStr | Response to Training in Emotion Recognition Function for Mild TBI/PTSD Survivors: Pilot Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Response to Training in Emotion Recognition Function for Mild TBI/PTSD Survivors: Pilot Study |
| title_short | Response to Training in Emotion Recognition Function for Mild TBI/PTSD Survivors: Pilot Study |
| title_sort | response to training in emotion recognition function for mild tbi ptsd survivors pilot study |
| topic | traumatic brain injury (TBI) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) emotion function affect recognition prosody recognition |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/7/728 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jkaywaidebbs responsetotraininginemotionrecognitionfunctionformildtbiptsdsurvivorspilotstudy AT kristenlewandowski responsetotraininginemotionrecognitionfunctionformildtbiptsdsurvivorspilotstudy AT yizhang responsetotraininginemotionrecognitionfunctionformildtbiptsdsurvivorspilotstudy AT samanthagraham responsetotraininginemotionrecognitionfunctionformildtbiptsdsurvivorspilotstudy AT janisjdaly responsetotraininginemotionrecognitionfunctionformildtbiptsdsurvivorspilotstudy |