Abstract: Objective To investigate the characteristic of picture forgetting in closed traumatic brain injury (CTBI) patients during recovery. Methods From October, 2012 to August, 2013, 60 colour slides of target or interference picture were presented to 38 CTBI patients during recovery and 31 matched healthy controls. Their discriminability index (d′) was observed 10 minutes, 30 minutes and 24 hours later. Results Forteen patients failed to attain d′ of 2.0 10 minutes later, and were excluded from further study. The d′ of the other 24 patients was less than that of the controls 10 minutes, 30 minutes and 24 hours later (t>2.044, P<0.05). The d′ in the patients was more of 10 minutes and 30 minutes than that of 24 hours (P<0.05). Conclusion Some patients with CTBI during recovery exhibit impairment in acquisition of pictorial information, and accelerated forgetting is found in the others without impairment.

Key words: closed traumatic brain injury, recovery, picture forgetting, memory