Inhibitory control after traumatic brain injury in children

Abstract

Inhibitory control describes a number of distinct processes. Effortless inhibition refers to acts of control that are automatic and reflexive. Effortful inhibition refers to voluntary, goal-directed acts of control such as response flexibility, interference control, cancellation inhibition, and restraint inhibition. Disruptions to a number of inhibitory control processes occur as a consequence of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI). This paper reviews the current knowledge of inhibition deficits following childhood TBI, and includes an overview of the inhibition construct and a discussion of the specific deficits shown by children and adolescents with TBI and the factors that mediate the expression of these deficits, including injury-related variables and the expression of pre- and post-injury attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The review illustrates that inhibitory control processes differ in terms of measurement, assessment, and neurological underpinnings, and also that childhood TBI may selectively disrupt particular forms of inhibition.