The assessment of echopraxia as a component of executive control deficit in traumatic brain injury

Executive control (EC) deficits in traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been documented. However, echopraxia, a prominent feature of executive dyscontrol, has rarely been described in TBI. We present evidence that echopraxia is a prominent feature of the EC deficits in TBI. By using The Executive Control Battery (ECB) as part of a larger comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, we demonstrate echopraxia in groups with focal frontal lesions, schizophrenia, and mild/moderate TBI. We then normalized, to healthy controls, various variables defined a priori as perseverative or echopraxic and show that the TBI group is more echopraxic than perseverative, although both are prominent features. Using regression models ECB variables were best at defining echopraxia. Thus, echopraxia is a prominent feature of EC deficits in TBI as measured by ECB.