Effects of single-dose methylphenidate on cognitive performance in patients with traumatic brain injury: a double-blind placebo-controlled study

• Published in: Clinical rehabilitation Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 24 - 30
• Main Authors: Kim, Yun-Hee, Ko, Myoung-Hwan, Na, Seung-Yong, Park, Se-Hun, Kim, Kee-Won
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications 01.01.2006; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Attention - drug effects; Brain Injuries - drug therapy; Brain Injuries - rehabilitation; Central Nervous System Stimulants - administration & dosage; Central Nervous System Stimulants - pharmacology; Cognition - drug effects; Cognitive ability; Double-Blind Method; Drug dosages; Female; Humans; Male; Medicine; Memory; Memory - drug effects; Methylphenidate - administration & dosage; Methylphenidate - pharmacology; Reaction Time; Rehabilitation; Statistics, Nonparametric; Traumatic brain injury
• ISSN: 0269-2155; 1477-0873
• DOI: 10.1191/0269215506cr927oa

Objectives: To determine the effect of a single dose of methylphenidate on the cognitive performance of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and particularly on working memory and visuospatial attention. Design: A double-blind placebo-controlled study. The subjects were randomly divided into an experimental group taking methylphenidate and a control group taking a placebo. Setting: The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of a university hospital. Subjects: Eighteen subjects with TBI (16 male and two female) were enrolled. Interventions: The patients were given 20 mg methylphenidate or a placebo. Cognitive assessments were performed at three times: before the medication as a baseline, 2 h after medication and at follow-up (48 h later). Main measures: Cognitive assessments consisted of working memory tasks and endogenous visuospatial attention tasks designed using SuperLabPro 2.0 software. Response accuracy and reaction time were measured. Results: There were significant improvements in response accuracy in the methylphenidate group compared with the placebo group for both the working memory and visuospatial attention tasks. A significant decrease in the reaction time was also observed in the methylphenidate group only for the working memory task. Conclusions: The administration of single-dose methylphenidate has an effect in improving cognitive functioning following a TBI. The effects were most prominent regarding the reaction time of the working memory.