A prospective functional MR imaging study of mild traumatic brain injury in college football players.
OBJECTIVE
Although concussion is common among athletes, evidence-based methods for clinical evaluation, treatment, and recovery are lacking. We used a prospective, functional neuroimaging approach to assess sports-related concussion in which imaging was performed before injury so that brain changes resulting from concussion could be better understood.


METHODS
Neurophysiologic correlates of sports-related concussion were investigated in eight college football players by using functional MR imaging. Preseason baseline levels of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activity were acquired during the performance of a test battery that included mathematical, memory, and sensorimotor coordination tasks. Four players who had a concussion repeated these baseline procedures within 1 week of injury. The remaining control players were retested at the end of the season.


RESULTS
Specific neural signatures of concussion were detected in individual players by comparing postconcussion results to preconcussion baseline values. The validity of these indicators was confirmed by comparing them with the same measures in noninjured control subjects. When compared with control subjects, concussed players had marked within-subject increases in the amplitude and extent of BOLD activity during a finger-sequencing task. Effects were observed primarily in the parietal and lateral frontal and cerebellar regions.


CONCLUSIONS
Differences in neural functioning were observed in the absence of observed deficits in behavioral performance, suggesting that this approach may increase sensitivity to concussion compared with neuropsychological evaluation alone. Though preliminary, the proposed prospective neuroimaging approach may have great potential for understanding mild traumatic brain injury and identifying mechanisms underlying recovery.
Jantzen
Kelly J
KJ
Florida Atlantic University, Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Boca Raton, 33431, USA.
Anderson
Brian
B
Steinberg
Fred L
FL
Kelso
J A Scott
JA
D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis