Subconcussive impacts and imaging findings over a season of contact sports

Elizabeth M Davenport; Jillian E Urban; Fatemeh Mokhtari; Ervin L Lowther; John D Van Horn; Christopher G Vaughan; Gerard A Gioia; Christopher T Whitlow; Joel D Stitzel; Joseph A Maldjian

doi:10.2217/cnc-2016-0003

Subconcussive impacts and imaging findings over a season of contact sports

Concussion. 2016 Aug 16;1(4):CNC19. doi: 10.2217/cnc-2016-0003. eCollection 2016 Dec.

Authors

Elizabeth M Davenport^{1

2

1

2}, Jillian E Urban^{3

3}, Fatemeh Mokhtari^{4

3

4

3}, Ervin L Lowther^{5

5}, John D Van Horn^{6

6}, Christopher G Vaughan^{7

7}, Gerard A Gioia^{7

7}, Christopher T Whitlow^{8

8}, Joel D Stitzel^{3

3}, Joseph A Maldjian^{1

2

1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Advanced Neuroscience Imaging Research (ANSIR) Laboratory, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
² Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
³ Virginia Tech - Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1088, USA.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1088, USA.
⁵ Department of Radiology-Neuroradiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1088, USA.
⁶ USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
⁷ Division of Pediatric Neuropsychology, Children's National Health System, George Washington University School of Medicine, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
⁸ Translational Science Institute, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1088, USA.

Abstract

The effect of repeated subconcussive head impacts in youth and high school sports on the developing brain is poorly understood. Emerging neuroimaging data correlated with biomechanical exposure metrics are beginning to demonstrate relationships across a variety of modalities. The long-term consequences of these changes are unknown. A review of the currently available literature on the effect of subconcussive head impacts on youth and high school-age male football players provides compelling evidence for more focused studies of these effects in these vulnerable populations.

Keywords: MEG; MRI; contact sports; diffusion imaging; functional imaging; head impacts; neurocognitive testing; repetitive head impacts; sport-related head impacts.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

Publication types

Grants and funding