---------- Biological Basis of Behavior ------ ----
---------- SPRING, 2005 ----------

                            
                            
                       BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOR

Psychology 321                     	                   
Spring, 2005					HGH 225
Dr. John M. Morgan                 	MWF, 8am to 9:00                                                   



Martin Overstreet
Michael Butterfield 
Roslyn McCoy
 
 
                    V5 Area Damage 

Introduction 

	The V5 area of the brain, also known as the medial 
temporal (MT) is primarily responsible for motion perception.  
This paper will address V5 neurology, neurosurgery, 
neuropsychology, the effects of V5 lesions on patient 
behavior, and family and community interactions.


			  Neurology and Neurosurgery 
			
By Martin Overstreet


Neurology Overview

	Although our primary interest is with the Medial 
Temporal Lobe, also called the V5 area, a discussion of the 
entire motion perception pathway is instructive. Motion 
perception actually begins with the specialized visual 
receptors in the retina known as M-cells (from the Latin word 
magnus, for large). As the name implies, the M-cells are 
relatively large, located in the peripheral retina, and 
respond quickly to transient visual stimulation making them 
ideally suited for motion detection. By contrast, P-cells are 
smaller, located in the fovea, react more slowly to stimuli, 
and are suited to fine-detail vision. Impulses from the 
retina then travel via the optic nerve to the optic chiasm 
where fibers of the optic nerve from the inner (nasal) half 
of each retina cross while those from the outside (temporal) 
half of each retina stay on the same side.  This partial 
crossing is a feature of mammals, whereas for most 
vertebrates below mammals, all the fibers cross. It must be 
pointed out that no motion processing is actually done in the 
optic chiasm. About 20% of the axons leaving the optic chiasm 
go to the Superior Colliculus, which is responsible for 
certain eye movements and spatial localization.  The 
remaining 80% of the axons go to the Lateral Geniculate 
Nucleus, LGN (Schiffman, 2000, p. 71-73). 
 The LGN represents the next motion processing step 
after the M-cells in the retina. The Magnocellular Division 
of the LGN specifically processes the impulses from the M-
cells in the retina and is uniquely suited to distinguishing 
small contrasts between light and dark areas thereby 
enhancing three-dimensionality and motion effects (Schiffman, 
2000, p. 78).  The Parvocellular path that receives its 
inputs from the P-cells, is important for detecting the 
disparity from the left and right eyes and is therefore key 
to depth perception and distance judgment (Kalat, 2004, p. 
172). From the LGN, impulses go to the Primary Visual Cortex 
(also called V1) where three specialized cell types (Simple, 
Complex, and Hyper Complex) process stimulations as to their 
orientation, length, motional speed and direction. Impulses 
are further processed in the V2 area in terms of shape and 
form, in the V3 area for detail acuity plus some additional 
shape and form processing, the V4 area for color information 
(Schiffman, 2000, p. 74), and the Medial Superior Temporal 
(MST) and the Medial Temporal (MT), also called the V5 area 
(Kalat, 2004. P. 171-172). The MST also receives impulses 
relating to eye movement and using a form of feedback 
processing, it accounts for the near constant movement of the 
eyes themselves and differentiates that information from the 
actual object movement. The MT area proper is more involved 
with the processing of continuous motion.  To illustrate the 
differences between the MT and the MST, we can use the 
example of pouring a cup of coffee.  A person suffering a 
lesion to the MST will perceive stationary objects to be in 
near constant motion, and pouring from the perceived as 
moving coffee pot into the also perceived as moving cup is an 
extremely difficult task requiring adaptive behaviors just to 
perform it.  A lesion to the MT would result in the 
sufferer's inability to see the fluid being poured as moving 
at all, nor would they perceive the rising fluid level in the 
cup, consequently they can not judge when to stop pouring 
(Kalat, 2004. P. 174).
It must not be assumed, however, that these pathways are 
in any way sequential. The fact that the vision areas were 
named V1 through V5 was actually based on the mistaken belief 
that visual processing was perfectly orderly and traveled 
neatly from one area to the next. In truth, visual processing 
is highly interactive between areas and extraordinarily 
complex. There are numerous unique and separate pathways that 
have so far been identified, if incompletely understood. For 
example, the dorsal stream that is important for spatial 
location extends from V1, making intermediate contact with V2 
and V3, and is then processed in V5, but the ventral stream 
used for object identification goes from V1, with 
intermediate connections to V2 and V4, and finally to the 
Interior Temporal (IT) area (Schiffman, 2000, p. 74).

V5 Neurology

The Medial Temporal (MT or V5) and the somewhat smaller 
Medial Superior Temporal (MST) are jointly known as MT+ and 
are located in the dorsolateral occipitotemporal junction.  
The two structures are adjacent to one another and are highly 
connected neurally, sharing many processing features, but 
having some interesting differences. For example, the MST 
neurons are especially sensitive to the coherence of visual 
motion, as demonstrated by experimenters using a set of 
radially expanding dots as opposed to randomly moving dots. 
Interestingly, this motion mimics the common visual 
experience of moving though space (optic flow) and may assist 
in the visual navigation of space through the MST's 
processing based on the direction of heading with respect to 
the direction of gaze (Ulbert et al, 2001, p. 227). As 
mentioned previously, the MST compares eye movement with 
respect to object motion (supplied by the MT) to calculate 
true motion. Lesions in the MST can cause extreme 
disorientation for the observer with respect to the 
environment, and has been described by sufferers as a 
"kaleidoscopic disintegration of visible objects (Vaina et 
al, 2002, p. 464). The MT itself uses slight differences in 
illumination values to detect boundary motion by correlating 
luminance displacements over both space and time (Nawrot et 
al, 2000, p. 3436), and MT neurons are highly specialized for 
detecting the direction, orientation, and speed of stimulus 
movement (Naikar et al,1996,p. 1042). At this point, it 
should be mentioned that the functions of the MT and MST are 
not completely differentiated and much interaction and shared 
processing occurs between them.  For example, the MT shows 
much less selectivity to coherent motion than the MST, but 
some MT cells do exhibit that property (Ulbert,2001,p. 227).

V5 Neurosurgery Results

We will be discussing the singular case of S.F. whose 
epileptic seizures were determined by EEG to be caused by a 
lesion in the right hemisphere MT+ (both MT proper and MST) 
and consequently underwent a topectomy to remove a section of 
this area. A battery of motion perception tests were given to 
S.F. both before and after the surgery, and focused on two 
basic types of motion perception, namely, first order effects 
which are the detection of luminance displacements (primarily 
MT function), and second order effects which involve mental 
rotation and orientation (primarily MST functions). Following 
are the results of the various tests (Nawrot,2000,p.3436).
	The first test was based on random dot cinematograms 
(RDC) and was used to assess both first and second order 
effects, and requires the subject to detect local dot 
movements (first order) and integrate them into a global 
motion percept (second order). Immediate post-surgery testing 
compared to the pre-surgery baseline showed marked decreases 
in both the ability to discern discreet motion (first order) 
and global motion (second order).  Interestingly, the 
patient's performance in the RDC test improved to pre-surgery 
levels within two weeks of the surgery (Nawrot, 2000,p.3439), 
suggestive of collateral dendritic sprouting, or that the 
undamaged MT area in S.F.'s opposite brain hemisphere was 
compensating for the impaired functioning (Kalat,2004,p.131).
	To test any change to S.F.'s ability to perceive shape 
from motion, a 5AFC letter identification task was 
administered. This test uses dots to portray standard letters 
from the alphabet shown against a background of random dots 
under three conditions, 1. dot movement within the letter 
shape against a static background,2. dot movement in 
different directions within the letter shape and the 
background, and 3. differing dot densities within the letter 
shape and the background. The results of the pre-surgery 
testing showed S.F. was within the normal range, however, 
immediately after the surgery, S.F. showed detection 
thresholds that were 7 standard deviations higher (worse 
performance) than normal. Again, as with the dot 
cinematograms test, S.F's measured performance improved after 
the surgery so that by 18 days after the surgery, her 
detection of shape from motion was back to pre-surgery levels 
(Nawrot, 2000,p.3440). 
	To test mental rotation, the Cooper and Shepherd test 
was given.  In this test, a single letter "R" is displayed in 
seven different orientations and the subject's ability to 
recognize the letter is assessed by measuring the elapsed 
time it take to identify the letter in normal versus backward 
orientation.  The results of this test showed S.F.'s response 
times increased 380 percent during the first 5 days following 
the surgery. Again, as with all the other tests, the poorer 
performance was transitory and pre-surgery performance was 
again normal by the 18th day following surgery 
(Nawrot,200,p.3443), suggestive of either dendritic sprouting 
or opposite hemisphere compensation.

References
Kalat, J. W. (2004). Biological Psychology (8th ed.). 
Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth.
Naikar, N. (1996). Perception of apparent motion of colored 
stimuli after commissurotomy. Neuropsychologia, 34(11),1041-
1049.
Nawrot, M., Rizzo, M., Rockland, K.S., Howard, M. (2000). A 
transient deficit of motion perception. Vision Research, 
(40),3435-3446.
Schiffman, H.R. (2000). Sensation and Perception (5th ed.). 
New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Ulbert, I., Karmos, G., Heit, G., & Halgren, E. (2001). Early 
discrimination of coherent versus incoherent motion by 
multiunit and synaptic activity in human putative MT+. Human 
Brain Mapping, 13(4),226-238.
Vaina, L.M., Cowey, A., LeMay, M., Bienfang, D.C., & Kikinis, 
R. (2002). Visual deficits in a patient with kaleidoscopic 
disintegration of the visual world.  European Journal of 
Neurology, (9),463-477.


V5 Neuropsychology,Patient Impact 
	And Family Considerations
			
By Michael Butterfield

Neuropsychology

	After an individual damages the MT/v5 area of the 
occipital lobe, it can be very beneficial for the 
individual to go through neuropsychological evaluations to 
assess their perceptual and cognitive abilities post-trauma 
or surgery.  A Neuropsychologist determines what tests are 
appropriate to adequately identify the extent of the 
cognitive and behavioral consequential effects associated 
with the damage sustained by the MT/v5 area.  
In the example of SF, the epileptic mentioned earlier 
by (Nawrot et al, 2000), SF had a series of motion 
perception test administered to determine the effects of 
her surgery.  In the case of SF, pre and post-surgery tests 
were given to measure how the removal of the lesion in the 
MT+ area of her occipital lobe effected her perceptual 
abilities. The random dot cinematograms (RDC) test, was 
selected to measure SF perception and the consequential 
effects of damage sustained to her occipital lobe areas.  
After these tests were administered, the Neuropsychologist 
is able to rank the patients test score against the mean 
scores that represent normal performance range.  In the 
case of SF, the perception tests were able to show the 
amount of time it took for her MT/v5 area to adapt to its 
new conditions. The Neuropsychologist then compares SF's 
perceptual performance to her pre-surgery ranges. These 
results helped (Nawrot et al, 2000) suggest that either 
dendritic sprouting or the opposite hemisphere compensation 
occurred in order to compensate for damage of SF MT/v5 
area.  The importance of these tests, are to help the 
Neuropsychologist determine the necessary steps needed for 
the rehabilitation of the patient.  In the case of SF, 
these results helped conclude that the removal of lesion in 
the MT to reduce her seizures was worth it.  The amount of 
seizures was greatly reduced post surgery and the visual 
and perceptual deficits experienced by SF after the surgery 
were short lived.
	Another example of the types of tests used by 
Neuropsychologist to identify the effects of head trauma, 
are illustrated in the case study of BC, a 45 year old 
women with visual-perceptual deficits. (Vaina et al, 2002, 
p. 465) The Performance part of the Wechsler Adult 
Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) was administered by the 
Neuropsychologist to assess BC's perceptual and cognitive 
abilities. Three tests in the Performance IQ set were 
administered, Picture Completion, Block Design, and Object 
Assembly. The results of BC's scores on these three tests 
showed that her perceptual ability was impaired in 
comparison to the normal scores of age-matched control 
subjects. (Vaina et al, 2002, p. 465) Another test the 
Neuropsychologist gave to BC, in addition to the 
Performance IQ set, to determine her ability to interpret 
complex pictures or visual fields. BC was shown a postcard 
size picture of the Telegraph Boy from the Binet Scale at 
normal reading distance. The results indicated BC's ability 
to accurately portray complex pictures was greatly reduced 
when the scene involved movement. (Vaina et al, 2002, p. 
466).  The significance of this test was to help the 
Neuropsychologist identify whether or not BC would 
experience problems with object recognition, which can be 
illustrated through BC's interpretation to the Telegraph 
Boy. 

Patient Impact

	There are a vast variety of determinant factors that 
can influence the way a patient responds to head trauma.  
The specific location of the brain trauma plays an 
important role in the behavioral side effects.  Trauma to 
the MT/v5 area of the occipital lobe as earlier discussed 
would usually only cause temporary problems with visual 
perception, especially in motion perception.  Lesions 
within area MT, improve or even completely recover their 
previous perceptual abilities within a few days after the 
lesion (Vaina et al, 2001, p.315). Therefore, probably most 
people who experience damage to the v5/MT area do not have 
to worry about permanent side effects to their vision.  
However beyond the effects experienced as a result of 
damaging the occipital cortex, whose main function is to 
process things that your eyes see, there can be a number of 
potential emotional and other side effects that can develop 
as a result of head injury.   
Dr. Dell Orto and Dr. Power's theorized in their book 
Head Injury And The Family some of the potential 
determining factors, in how an individual's might react to 
a head injury.  The Personality type of an individual 
before the trauma seems to be the first important factor in 
how an individual responds.  Dependent personality types 
are usually more inclined to become even more dependent on 
others and social support post-trauma, than independent 
personality types.  The second significant factor in how an 
individual reacts is the patient's conception of body image 
and related factors impacted by the trauma.  Anyone who was 
concerned about their body image might have a hard time 
with the way they see themselves post-trauma that could 
lead to symptoms of depression.  Other possible related 
factors that could influence an individual's reaction to 
occipital lobe damage, is how important visual processing, 
especially motion, is for the patients job.  A taxi driver, 
bus driver, or even a waitress would probably be more 
impacted by a v5 trauma than a retired person who does not 
drive motor vehicles, instead spends most of the day 
observing the clouds in the sky.  A third factor that 
influences a patient's reaction is their previous 
satisfaction with selected activities.  In the case of v5 
trauma, a person who was blind or had limited visual 
processing is probably going to be less likely than a 
person who had 20/20 vision, to freak out after the affects 
of v5 trauma.  The fourth factor that can be a determinant 
in a patient's reaction to the v5 trauma is presence or 
absence of therapeutic intervention.  The best example of 
this is if the patient has the resources to see a 
Neuropsychologist.  The Neuropsychologist can give tests to 
the patient to see the extent of the trauma and give 
potential rehabilitative activities for the patient to 
practice.  Beyond the test to see the extent of the trauma, 
a Neuropsychologist can also identify potential emotional 
effects and potential solutions for such trauma.  The fifth 
factor that impacts a patients reaction to head trauma is 
familial and societal reactions to the injury.  Family 
members can have profound influence on how an individual 
will react to his/her head injury.  Different roles within 
the family quickly can change as a result of head injury.  
It is theorized that individuals often adapt and develop 
emotional responses, like frustration, guilt, and 
depression, from the families and societies reaction to the 
head trauma.  My personal experiences with head injury 
concur with this idea.  After I realized the financial 
consequences of my condition I experienced these emotions 
of guilt, depression, and especially inadequacy. These 
feelings go far beyond the biological symptoms of my brain 
injury.  I believe that most of these emotions were 
personally derived from my perception of how my family 
regarded my condition and what they felt should be done 
about it. 

Family Considerations

	The Family usually plays a significant role in how a 
patient is going to react to the head injury.  Personally 
my head injury initially got more concern from my family 
than myself. This is usually the case for individuals who 
are not yet adults which leaves the family responsible for 
the minors well being.  I believe that for me this was a 
good thing because I needed the social support to ensure 
that I would not live in denial of my condition and not 
apply treatment.  However the negative consequences of my 
condition were easily observed through my family members 
thoughts and actions.  I knew that although my condition 
caused a great financial burden on my parents, they wanted 
to do everything they could to make my life easier.  This 
thought although very flattering did not make me feel good, 
it made me feel guilty because it made my parents life 
harder. I developed feelings that made me think that I my 
parents did not deserve that kind of emotional and 
financial suffering.  As a result I adapted the behavior of 
not taking my prescription medication, along with not 
seeking any medical attention because of the absurd cost of 
medical care.  In addition to those feelings my parents 
said something to me once that forever imprinted me with 
feeling of worthlessness.  As a young boy my father 
constantly reinforced the idea if I was ever put on life 
support my parents would pull the plug, because of the 
financial costs of treatment, resulting in my death.  After 
I heard this I felt as though my life was worth little to 
my parents.  Even though their love for me was evident 
through their concern the reality of such statement gave me 
the impression that my life and condition was not their 
blessing but an inconvenience.  As a result of such reality 
imprinted upon me by my parents reactions to my condition, 
I began to deny the severity of such condition, a typical 
response of head trauma patients as discussed in Dr. Dell 
Orto and Dr. Power's book.  This denial involved not taking 
my medicine with the hope of not being a financial burden 
on my parents.  The denial also led me to lie to the 
neurologist when discussing the extent of my seizures 
resulting from my head trauma.  I guess I felt like I would 
rather die than live with this condition that has caused 
great pain and suffering to my family as well as myself.  
 

References:
Del Orto, A. E. & Power, P. W. (1994) Head Injury And The 
Family. Winter park, Florida: PMD 

Kalat, J. W. (2004). Biological Psychology (8th ed.). 
Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth.

Nawrot, M., Rizzo, M., Rockland, K.S., Howard, M. (2000). A 
transient deficit of motion perception. Vision Research, 
(40),3435-3446.

Vaina, L.M., Cowey, A., LeMay, M., Bienfang, D.C., & 
Kikinis, R. (2002). Visual deficits in a patient with 
kaleidoscopic disintegration of the visual world.  European 
Journal of Neurology, (9),463-477.

Vaina, L.M., Cowey, A., Eskew Jr, R.T., LeMay, M., & Kemper 
T. (2001). Regional cerebral correlates of global motion 
perception, Evidence from unilateral cerebral brain damage. 
Brain, (124), 310-321.

     

Family and Community
By Roslyn McCoy

The family will become experts in services for traumatic 
brain injuries(TBI); Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, 
and Department of Rehabilitation regulations, while trying 
to adjust to a family member who has had a TBI.  Many times 
this beloved family member had been hanging on the edge of 
death for unending hours, days, weeks, or even months.  
When they come out of the coma, they are not the same as 
they were.  In most cases they are not able to do what they 
used to do, and their behavior may be dramatically changed.  
This will cause significant stress in the family structure; 
statistics show that 90% of families facing TBI are not 
able to stay together.  The community involvement will also 
change dramatically for these individuals because many in 
the community will view them as having psychological 
impairments comparative to schizophrenia; such impairments 
are widely misunderstood and discriminated against in our 
communities (Loudon).  

Research has shown that the quality of life of individuals 
that live with TBI is significantly lower in many areas, such 
as marital comfort, close friends, parenting, understanding 
self, socializing, and work, than their nondisabled 
counterparts.  Individuals experiencing a mild form of TBI 
seem to become hyperaware of and hyperreactive to the 
challenge introduced into their lives as a consequence of 
TBI.  This recognition of contrast in quality of life issues 
before the injuries and after may provide rationale for their 
experience that the quality of life plummets after injury.  
This can be compared with other individuals with severe 
injuries who do not focus on the contrast between their "old" 
and "new" lives allowing these individuals to be more 
subjective about the quality of their lives (Brown).

 Social worker

An individual and family receive support from various 
government services such as the Social Security Department, 
Department of Rehabilitations, Medicare and Medi-Cal.

To qualify for Social Security the individual and family if 
they are financially responsible, cannot have more than $2000 
in resources as a single, or $3000 in resources for a couple.  
This doesn't include the home they live in or the car(within 
limits) they use to go back and forth to the doctor.  For 
most Americans, we would see this as totally destitute, but 
currently this is the requirement.  In California, SSDI, the 
minimum cash aid, is around $800 and it will go up depending 
on the amount the consumer contributed to the federal 
program.  

Here in California, the consumer would be qualified for 
Medicare and Medi-Cal which involves a maze of paperwork and 
regulations.  Under this program there is a $2000 a year cap 
on Durable Medical Equipment (DME), which has to cover the 
expanse of assistive technology like reachers(devices that 
grab items out of reach) to bladder bags.  These are not 
luxuries, but items that can change the quality of life for 
an individual and their families who have just experienced 
the traumatic incident of a brain injury.

There are different social services available to individuals 
and families that have been involved in a TBI such as 
Occupational Therapists (also called OT). OT services mainly 
focus on activities that an individual needs to do in 
everyday life. OTs will also work with the consumer on high-
level thinking skills necessary to return to home and work 
successfully.  They may help with work related behaviors, but 
usually they are totally out of the picture before an 
individual is able to return to the work 
environment(Johnson).  

Occupational therapy is strictly controlled by Medicare/ 
Medi-Cal, approving two to four weeks of therapy to an 
individual that needs help with 100% of their ADL (Activities 
of Daily Living) such as dressing, walking, and social 
interaction.  If they don't progress within this time period 
to the moderate level of need, rated at 50% of ADL is 
provided by OT , they are terminated from the program.  If 
they are successful moving into the moderate level, then they 
are provided with another two to three weeks of assistance; 
again, if they do not advance into the minimum level within 
this time period they will be terminated off the program.  
The minimum level of instruction the individual is capable of 
75% of their ADL activities, and this training only lasts for 
one week.  Most rehabilitation services are terminated within 
three months after the brain injury had occurred, or the 
consumer came out of their coma.  We have seen from the prior 
research that brain injury recovery takes much longer than 
three months, so any further services will come directly out 
of the pocket of the consumer and their families.  $2-$3000 
does not go far because the consumer will not receive 
services until the consumer reaches this level of 
resources(Hildreth).

Other services that may be available to a client are physical 
therapy, psychiatrist, vocational rehabilitation counselor, 
and social worker.  Physical therapy focuses on returning the 
person to the highest level of their physical ability, such 
as walking.  The psychiatrist will be called to help the 
individual with TBI cope with their emotional or behavioral 
problems.  They can provide medication to assist people 
experiencing intense emotions and behavioral distress.  
During the early phases of hospitalization, the TBI patient 
may be confused and agitated to the point where they become 
combatant.  Later in the recovery process, people can become 
depressed requiring antidepressants to help them cope 
(Johnson).

In many hospitals, social workers will assist individuals 
with discharge plans and assist family members to cope with 
their medical problems.  Brain injury associations are 
available online and in many communities such as Making 
Headway, Inc, in Eureka, who will provide legal advocacy, and 
social support to individuals and families affected by 
TBI.(London)

Work

Vocational Rehabilitation (DOR) counselors assist the 
consumer with returning to work, providing support for 
retraining in school or placing them in volunteer positions.  
They will provide support for their clients by setting up job 
coaching, job strategies, school strategies,and maximizing 
their client's ability to live independently in their 
communities.  DOR also provides ADA technical assistance and 
training and funds 29 Independent Living Centers 
 which offer information 
and referral services to assist individuals with disabilities 
live active, independent lives.Vocational Rehabilitation 
services are designed to get Californians with disabilities 
prepared for employment and can include training, education, 
transportation and job placement.  The counselor will locate 
jobs, school programs, and volunteer sites that best match 
the consumer's needs(Johnson).  
The Department of Rehabilitations web site provides 
information about assistive technology and resources; this 
includes links to other web sites related to assistive 
technology  - the web site of the AT 
Network. There are also loan guarantee programs 
 that may 
help individuals seeking solutions to assistive technology 
needs. The AT Network is funded by a federal grant through 
the Department of 
Rehabilitation(http://www.rehab.cahwnet.gov/)

If you wish to receive any more than a basic level of 
service, you will need to know the law intimately.  There are 
many laws governing how these programs such as Medicare, 
Medicaid, and the Department of Rehabilitations are to be 
implemented.  The regulations for the Department of 
Rehabilitations is called Title Nine; this can be found in 
the California regulations web site http://www.calregs.com.  
You will find in the state and federal regulations that it 
states that the clients are to be fully informed about the 
services that the Department will provide.  But over the last 
seven years of asking many DR counselors, I have only found 
one Department of Rehabilitation counselor in Michigan that 
was willing to give any more information than "it is a 
personalized program."  They will not tell you that 
regulations state that they could help you with medical 
expenses, or relocation expenses for access to training and 
work. To receive many of these services, you will probably 
have to take them to court which is called a Fair Hearing.  
To receive help you can contact The Client Assistance program 
(CAP) which will help prepare and present your case. 

"The Protection and Advocacy (P&A) System and Client 
Assistance Program (CAP) comprise the nationwide network of 
congressionally mandated, legally-based disability rights 
agencies. P&A agencies have the authority to provide legal 
representation and other advocacy services, under all federal 
and state laws, to all people with disabilities (based on a 
system of priorities for services). All P&As maintain a 
presence in facilities that care for people with 
disabilities, where they monitor, investigate and attempt to 
remedy adverse conditions. These agencies also devote 
considerable resources to ensuring full access to inclusive 
educational programs, financial entitlements, health care, 
accessible housing and productive employment opportunities."

The ticket to work program is also available, providing 
services to any disabled person who is receiving Social 
Security. This program provides services to gain self-
sufficiency in an employment program for people with 
disabilities.  This program was developed as the Work 
Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, removing many of the 
barriers that have previously influenced and discouraged 
people from returning to work because of concerns over losing 
their health-care coverage(MAXIMUS). 



References
Brown, Margaret & DavidVandergoot. 1998 Quality of Life for 
Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury: comparison with 
other living in the community.  Head Trauma Rebabil: 13(4):1-
23 
California Code of Regulations http://www.calregs.com April 
28, 2005

Department of Rehabilitation, April 28, 2005 Retrieved May, 
28 2005   http://www.rehab.cahwnet.gov/   

TBI survivor D. Hildreth (personal communication April, 28. 
2005)

Johnson,Glen April 28, 2005 TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY SURVIVAL 
GUIDE. Retrieved May, 28 2005   www.tbiguide.com 
 

Making Headway,Inc. Loudon, Cheryl 1125 3rd St. Eureka, CA 
95501(personal communication May, 2 2005

MAXIMUS Ticket to Work Retrieved April, 28 2005 1-866-968-
7842 (TDD 1-866-833-2967) website at www.yourtickettowork.com 

MAXIMUS Protection and Advocacy Systems - The Nation's 
Disability Rights Network (PAs/CAPs) May, 2 2005
http://www.yourtickettowork.com/res_advocacy


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