Chad A. Noggle

Psychosocial and behavioral functioning following pediatric TBI: presentation, assessment, and intervention.

This article reviews the current literature surrounding the emotional and behavioral consequences as a result of traumatic brain injury (TBI) for children and adolescents. The use of a treatment planning model incorporating developmental theory, recovery, and family needs is advocated. The article reviews the current literature for treatment of primary emotional and psychiatric problems associated with TBI. Additional research into the treatment and intervention of psychiatric, emotional, and behavioral problems in children with TBI remains necessary.

Differential Diagnosis of Depression and Alzheimer's Disease Using the Cattell-Horn-Carroll Theory

Clinical differentiation between Alzheimers disease (AD) and depression is often difficult due to symptom overlap and similar clinical presentation. Concise and accurate diagnostic tests have been of interest for many years. Furthermore, with the continued growth of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory, there has been an emergence of measures such as the Woodcock-Johnson-III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-III COG), which are being more commonly used in clinical practice yet have not been fully evaluated in terms of their efficacy in various domains of clinical practice. This study investigated the predictive and diagnostic properties of the WJ-III COG as a CHC-based test in differentiating between AD and depression in the elderly population. A discriminative function used in the study was able to correctly classify 89.02% of cases using six areas of the CHC framework. The variables that had the highest predictive weights were: long-term retrieval, fluid reasoning, processing speed, and working memory. The main implication is that a theory-based approach is crucial in the support of differential diagnosis and in decreasing the length of assessment for elderly populations.

Neurocognitive Problems in Children and Adolescents With Depression Using the CHC Theory and the WJ-III

Depression has been commonly associated with both subjective complaints and objectively measured problems in cognition. Most commonly discussed in relation to the adult population, growing evidence has supported the idea that children and adolescents experience cognitive problems in relation to depression. The purpose of this study was to further examine the negative influence of depression on the cognitive functioning of children and adolescents. Additionally, the present study evaluated the sensitivity of the Woodcock-Johnson III Test of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-III-COG) and, in turn, the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory in measuring cognitive problems related to depression in children and adolescents. Participants included 420 children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 years old (M = 13.09, SD = 2.95) with a clinical diagnosis of depression. Comparisons were made against the normative mean. All participants completed 11 subtests of the WJ-III-COG including Visual-Auditory Learning, Spatial Relations, Sound Blending, Concept Formations, Visual Matching, Numbers Reversed, Auditory-Working Memory, Picture Recognition, Analysis Synthesis, Decision Speed, and Memory for Words. Children and adolescents with depression demonstrated significantly lower performance on subtests related to learning and memory (long-term retrieval), attentional capacity, working memory, reasoning, and processing speed. No problems were noted on subtests related to visual-spatial thinking and auditory processing. Findings suggested sensitivity of the WJ-III-COG and CHC theory in identifying cognitive problems associated with depression in children and adolescents.

The Path Ahead: Future Trends in the Assessment and Treatment of TBI in the Pediatric Population

The current article serves as the concluding remarks to this special issue on the assessment and treatment of traumatic brain injury in children and adolescents. The article provides a brief discussion of the changing landscape of clinical and research endeavors within this population and potential directions for the future.

Revitalization of Research Education in Psychiatry: Implications for Training During Residency

The importance of research education is dualistic in nature. On an individual level, research training promotes a mindset that fosters advanced acquisition of clinical knowledge (1,2) and stimulates scientific inquiry (3,4). In the broader arena of the profession, it protects against stagnation of a field’s scientific growth as it stirs individuals in training to pursue academic/scientific careers (4–9). Finally, it emphasizes the necessity of evidence-based practice in patient care (2,10,11). Knowing this, the ACGME indicates in its requirements for psychiatric residency training that residents must be taught the design and interpretation of research studies and that programs must provide scientific opportunities for residents interested in conducting psychiatric research (12). Although such guidelines have been set, many residency programs have found it difficult to incorporate the necessary research training and curriculum (13). To meet these new requirements, we have instituted a novel model of research education in our Psychiatry Residency program at SIU School of Medicine that includes six key elements: 1) committee oversight; 2) specific research and educational goals and requirements; 3) structured training; 4) foundational research curricula; 5) research advisorship; and 6) research mentorship.