Convergent thinking and traumatic brain injury: an investigation of performance on the remote associate test.
Arianna Rigon, Justin Reber, Nirav N Patel and 1 others
PMID 29883201WHAT IT FOUND
People with moderate-to-severe TBI were 2.45 times less likely to solve remote associate problems than healthy people.
In the TBI group, poor problem-solving tracked with verbal memory and processing speed, but not executive function tests.
Key findings
01Individuals with TBI were 2.45 times less likely to produce a correct answer on the Remote Associate Test than healthy comparisons.
02Within the TBI group, convergent thinking performance correlated significantly with verbal learning, processing speed, and memory, but not with executive functioning or psychosocial distress.
03The difference in problem-solving accuracy was not explained by slower processing speed, as both groups attempted a similar number of items.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study had a small sample size (29 TBI, 20 controls), which limits the generalisability of the findings. The lack of correlation between RAT performance and executive function tests in the TBI group is counter-intuitive and may be due to the specific tests used (Trails B) rather than a true absence of relationship. The study did not measure semantic processing, so it is unclear if deficits in understanding word meanings contributed to the poor RAT performance. No significant correlations were found in the healthy control group, suggesting the link between these cognitive domains and convergent thinking may only emerge when impairment is present.
Declared interests
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the poor problem-solving performance is caused by slow processing speed. The study found that TBI participants attempted the same number of items as healthy controls, meaning they worked at a similar pace but were more often incorrect.