Cognitive Rehabilitation for Treatment of Anger in Veterans With TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder)

In military populations, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co-occur, with prevalence rates indicating that 34% to 38% of Service members and Veterans diagnosed with TBI also meet criteria for PTSD. Brain areas affected by TBI are implicated in PTSD, particularly in the frontal lobe involved in executive function and emotional and behavioral regulation. Veterans with TBI and PTSD often face challenges such as biological dysregulation secondary to brain injury, including difficulty managing anger, diminished inhibitory control, and increased aggression and suicide.

Interventions aimed at effectively addressing these adverse outcomes are limited, however. As noted in the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report cited in the current CDMRP Program Announcement, PTSD-focused and mind-body treatments for anger have proven ineffective. For that reason, there is a critical imperative to discover other methods to reduce anger and impulsivity in Service members and Veterans with TBI and PTSD. Given neural mechanisms implicated in TBI and PTSD, an alternative approach to directly treat anger is to improve executive function itself. The Supervisory Attentional System (SAS) conceptualizes executive function as involving inhibition, attention, self-monitoring, and planning. These processes, along with emotional regulation, are key targets of a theory-based cognitive rehabilitation of executive function.

To improve executive function in TBI, research supports use of multiple approaches to optimize self-monitoring, emotion regulation, and self-control. One evidence-based intervention for executive function in TBI is goal management training (GMT). GMT trains individuals with TBI to set self-directed personal goals (e.g., work, school, fitness), break complex tasks into steps, and monitor attention to gain cognitive control. Multiple systematic reviews show GMT improves outcomes such as emotional regulation and social functioning, including among Veterans and non-Veterans with co-occurring TBI and PTSD. Another related approach involves external cues which can be used to encourage individuals with TBI to practice goal-directed behavior in real-world situations by prompting an "executive review" (e.g., asking oneself "What is the goal of what I'm doing right now? What are the steps to that goal? Am I paying attention to each step?"). Research shows cueing and conducting executive reviews is associated with fewer functional limitations in individuals with TBI. This content-free cueing involving several daily reminders helps apply goal-oriented behaviors in daily life, leading to better emotional regulation and social functioning after brain injury.

Finally, attention training has also been shown to be effective in reducing function limitations in TBI. The n-back task in particular has been used to increase attentional control, inhibition, and working memory by training conscious and deliberate use of strategies to effectively allocate attentional resources and manage the rate of information received during task completion, with recent studies showing working memory interventions in general, and n-back training specifically, change neural pathways and improve attentional control. All three (GMT, content free-cuing, and the n-back task) can be implemented via mobile health technology, extending cognitive rehabilitation from the clinic to the home. Optimal rehabilitation also capitalizes on an individual's social support network, particularly relevant for successful reintegration after military service for Veterans with TBI and PTSD. The investigators have found links between Veterans' social support and improved treatment engagement, reduced violence, and reduced suicide risk.