The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Community Integration and Return to Work After Acquired Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether emotional intelligence (EI) skills measured via the Perceiving, Understanding, and Managing Emotions branches of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test V2.0 are associated with community integration (CI) and return to work (RTW) after moderate-to-severe acquired brain injury (ABI), after accounting for other established predictors. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Outpatient follow-up services within 2 specialist ABI rehabilitation centers in Melbourne, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals (N=82) with moderate-to-severe ABI discharged from inpatient rehabilitation and living in the community (2mo to 7y postinjury). INTERVENTION: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Community Integration Questionnaire scores for the total sample (N=82; age range 18-80) and RTW status (employed vs not employed) for the subset of participants employed prior to ABI (n=71; age range 19-66). RESULTS: Hierarchical logistic and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the unique contribution of Perceiving, Understanding, and Managing Emotions scores to RTW and CI, after controlling for demographic, injury-related, psychological, and cognitive predictors. As a set, the 3 EI variables did not explain incremental variance in outcomes. However, individually, Understanding Emotions predicted RTW (adjusted odds ratio=3.10, P=.03), χ2 (12)=35.52, P<.001, and Managing Emotions predicted CI (ß=0.23, P=.036), F12,69=5.14, P<.001. CONCLUSION: Although the EI constructs in combination did not improve prediction beyond the effects of established variables, individual components of strategic EI may be important for specific participation outcomes after ABI.

Assessment of emotion processing skills in acquired brain injury using an ability-based test of emotional intelligence.

Social and emotional problems are commonly reported after moderate to severe acquired brain injury (ABI) and pose a significant barrier to rehabilitation. However, progress in assessment of emotional skills has been limited by a lack of validated measurement approaches. This study represents the first formal psychometric evaluation of the use of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) V2.0 as a tool for assessing skills in perceiving, using, understanding and managing emotions following ABI. The sample consisted of 82 participants aged 18-80 years in the postacute phase of recovery (2 months-7 years) after moderate to severe ABI. Participants completed the MSCEIT V2.0 and measures of cognition and mood. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collated from participant interview and medical files. Results revealed deficits across all MSCEIT subscales (approximately 1 SD below the normative mean). Internal consistency was adequate at overall, area, and branch levels, and MSCEIT scores correlated in expected ways with key demographic, clinical, cognitive, and mood variables. MSCEIT performance was related to injury severity and clinician-rated functioning after ABI. Confirmatory factor analysis favored a 3-factor model of EI due to statistical redundancy of the Using Emotions branch. Overall, these findings suggest that the MSCEIT V2.0 is sensitive to emotion processing deficits after moderate to severe ABI, and can yield valid and reliable scores in an ABI sample. In terms of theoretical contributions, our findings support a domain-based, 3-factor approach for characterizing emotion-related abilities in brain-injured individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record

Current challenges in the practice of epilepsy surgery.

The accurate prediction of individual outcomes after epilepsy surgery represents a key challenge facing clinicians. It requires a precise understanding of surgical candidacy and the optimal timing of surgery to maximize a range of outcomes, including medical, psychosocial, cognitive, and psychiatric outcomes. We promote careful consideration of how epilepsy has affected an individual's developmental trajectory as key to constructing more differentiated profiles of postsurgical risk or resilience across multiple outcome measures. This life span approach conceives surgery as a crucial "turning point" in an individual's development from which varied outcome trajectories may follow. This helps clinicians understand the expectations patients and families bring to surgery, and emphasizes the interplay of factors that determine a patient's outcome. It also promotes comprehensive, longitudinal assessment of outcome using data analytical techniques that capture individual differences and identify subgroups with similar trajectories. An ongoing challenge facing clinicians is the development of an outcome classification system that incorporates outcomes other than seizures. We illustrate two emerging areas of research shaping how we define surgical candidacy and predict outcome: (1) using cortico-cortical evoked potentials to identify pathways of seizure propagation and cortico-cortical networks mediating cortical functions, and (2) predicting postoperative depression using a model that incorporates psychosocial and neurobiological factors. The latter research points to the importance of routine follow-up and postoperative psychosocial rehabilitation, particularly in patients deemed at "high risk" for poor outcomes so that early treatment interventions can be implemented. Significantly more research is needed to characterize those patients with poor outcomes who may require re-surgery.

Profiling the evolution of depression after epilepsy surgery.

PURPOSE: Both neurobiologic and psychosocial factors have been proposed to account for the high prevalence of depression surrounding epilepsy surgery. Using a prospective longitudinal approach, this study aimed to profile the evolution of depression after epilepsy surgery at multiple time points, including early and longer-term follow-up. We also sought to identify neurobiologic and psychosocial predictors of depression before and after surgery, including whether patients undergoing mesial temporal lobe resection (MTR) were at greater risk of depression than patients undergoing nonmesial temporal lobe resection (NMTR). METHODS: Sixty patients undergoing epilepsy surgery (38 MTR, 22 NMTR) for the treatment of medically intractable seizures were assessed preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively in the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program of Austin Health. The diagnosis of depression was based on DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder, as assessed from a mental state examination. The Austin CEP Interview was used to obtain a detailed psychosocial assessment of each patient and family members. KEY FINDINGS: Before surgery, 43% of patients had a lifetime prevalence of depression, with no difference between the proportion of patients in the MTR (40%) and NMTR groups (50%). Predictive factors included a family history of psychiatric illness (p = 0.015) and financial dependence of either family members or government income benefits (p = 0.024). Discriminant function analysis indicated that these factors classified 69% of cases correctly (p = 0.006, partial η(2) = 0.06). In the 12 months following surgery, 37% of MTR and 27% of NMTR patients experienced major depression, with no significant difference between the two groups. The majority of depressed patients (70%) were diagnosed in the first 3 months and in 65% of diagnosed cases, the depression persisted for at least 6 months within the follow-up period. The pattern of recurrent and de novo depression differed significantly between the groups, with 13% of MTR patients developing de novo major depression in comparison to no NMTR patients (p = 0.05). A preoperative history of depression (p = 0.003) and poor postoperative family dynamics (1 month, p < 0.001; 3 months, p = 0.007; 6 months, p = 0.021; 12 months, p = 0.097) were predictive of depression after surgery. These factors correctly classified 78% of cases (p = 0.000, partial η(2) = 0.19). SIGNIFICANCE: The findings of this study confirm high rates of major depression before and after epilepsy surgery, the etiology of which is multifactorial. They highlight the need for thorough assessment and diagnosis before surgery, as well as the provision of routine follow-up and psychological support, particularly early after surgery. When estimating level of risk for depression, patients should be counseled about the role of both neurobiologic and psychosocial factors. Before surgery, these include a family history of psychiatric illness and financial dependence, whereas poor family adjustment to life after surgery and a patient preoperative history of depression were risk factors for postoperative depression. Finally, disruption to mesial temporal structures known to play a role in mood via MTR may place patients at increased risk of new-onset depression after surgery.

Differential contributions of objective memory and mood to subjective memory complaints in refractory focal epilepsy.

People with epilepsy frequently present with bitter memory complaints. Previous research variously attributes this to symptoms of mood disturbance or objective memory deficits. To investigate the influence of the epileptogenic region on this variability, we examined interrelationships between mood, objective memory, and memory complaints in a sample of patients with refractory focal epilepsy and controls (N = 96). Patients had either mesial temporal (MT, n = 39) or non mesial-temporal (NMT, n = 21) foci. In contrast to controls (n = 36), both patient groups were highly concerned about their memory (P<0.001) and were more likely to have a history of depression (P = 0.005). Multiple regression showed that objective memory dysfunction and current depressive symptoms predicted the memory complaints of patients with MT epilepsy (P = 0.005), whereas a history of depression predicted the complaints of patients with NMT epilepsy (P = 0.008). These findings suggest that patients have concerns about their memory underpinned by distinct psychological and neurobiological factors depending on the location of their epileptogenic focus.

The amygdala and anxiety after epilepsy surgery.

The relationship between amygdalar volume and anxiety after epilepsy surgery was explored. Participants comprised patients who underwent mesial temporal (n=26) or non-mesial temporal resections (n=16) and 41 neurologically normal controls. Anxiety was prospectively measured preoperatively and for the first 12 months postoperatively using criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Amygdalar volumetry was performed on preoperative and control T1-weighted MRI scans. Resection of an ipsilateral amygdala of normal volume, relative to controls, was associated with postoperative anxiety in patients with mesial temporal resections, regardless of seizure outcome [F(1, 22)=5.17, P<0.05]. There was no relationship between amygdalar volume and anxiety in patients with non-mesial temporal resections, or between contralateral amygdalar volume and anxiety in patients with mesial temporal resections (P>0.05 for all comparisons). In conclusion, resection or deafferentation of an amygdala with a volume within the normal range was associated with increased postoperative anxiety.

Profiles of psychosocial outcome after epilepsy surgery: the role of personality.

PURPOSE: We have previously found that the developmental time frame of epilepsy onset influences adult personality traits and subsequent adjustment to intractable seizures. In the same cohort of patients we now investigate the influence of these factors on psychosocial outcome after surgical treatment. METHODS: Fifty-seven adult patients with focal epilepsy were prospectively assessed before and after surgery. Measures of psychosocial outcome included mood, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and psychosocial adjustment, collected longitudinally at 1-, 3-, and 12-months after surgery. RESULTS: Patients with high neuroticism and low extraversion were predisposed to greater depression after surgery. More than 70% of patients with high neuroticism also reported disrupted family dynamics and difficulties adjusting to seizure freedom. The latter was associated with changes in self-identity that increased over time. Patients with epilepsy onset before or during the self-defining period of adolescence reported the greatest perceived self-change after surgery that had positive effects for HRQOL. DISCUSSION: Psychosocial outcome after epilepsy surgery appears intrinsically linked to a change in self and a transition from chronically sick to well. The development of personality traits and self-identity in the context of habitual seizures can impact psychosocial outcome and the extent of self-change reported after surgery, and paradoxically, can concur more beneficial effects.

Personality development in the context of intractable epilepsy.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the developmental time frame of epilepsy onset on adult personality traits of neuroticism and extraversion and to consider their role in adjustment to intractable epilepsy. DESIGN: Prospective, preoperative and postoperative survey of the psychological and psychosocial effects of intractable epilepsy and its surgical treatment. Data from the preoperative phase are reported. SETTING: Comprehensive Epilepsy Program (CEP), Austin Health. PATIENTS: Sixty adult patients with focal epilepsy undergoing inpatient monitoring. Groups of patients with epilepsy onset in different developmental periods were empirically derived and compared with each other and with normative personality data from 1571 cases. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Short Form; the Beck Depression Inventory-II; the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (state form); and the Austin CEP Interview, a semistructured interview providing in-depth psychosocial assessment. RESULTS: Patients with onset of epilepsy during the self-defining period of adolescence had higher neuroticism scores relative to normative data (95% confidence interval, 0.16 to 3.57) and other patients (-0.46 to -5.63). High neuroticism, particularly when accompanied by lower extraversion, predisposed to poor adjustment to intractable epilepsy as reflected by impaired mood (P < .01) and difficulties with family functioning (48% of patients). CONCLUSIONS: These data provide initial evidence that onset of chronic neurologic illness in adolescence influences the development of adult personality traits. We also found a relationship between personality and adjustment to chronic epilepsy. The findings are relevant to the provision of psychologically informed neurologic care.

Characterising de novo depression after epilepsy surgery.

De novo depression is a common psychiatric sequelae of epilepsy surgery. To date, no studies have described possible clinical correlates of de novo depression in this population. This qualitative study presents a detailed analysis of five cases of de novo depression. Data were collected from patients' medical files and routine in-depth psychosocial and psychiatric interviews (the Austin CEP Interview). All patients who developed de novo depression underwent anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL). Four out of five cases occurred within the first 3 months following surgery, and all were preceded by significant post-operative irritability reported by the patient's family. All experienced post-operative marital/relationship conflict that appeared to be a catalyst for deteriorating mood. Post-operative seizures were not temporally linked to the onset of depressive symptoms. This series provides an initial account of factors associated with de novo depression following anterior temporal lobectomy and may be of use in guiding larger scale studies.