Depression and neurocognitive functioning in mild traumatic brain injury patients referred for assessment

The relationship between depression and performance on selected neurocognitive tests was examined in two mild head injury samples (n(1) = 72, n(2) = 50). A series of hierarchical regression analyses showed that scores on depression-related scales of both the MCMI-II (Millon Clinical Multi-Axial Inventory; Millon, 1987) and MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; Hathaway & McKinley, 1989) were largely independent of cognitive performance. Depression may be prevalent in mild injury, but it is unlikely to mediate deficits observed on commonly used measures of problem solving, visual-niotor speed, prose and figural recall.