title: Neurocognitive vulnerability amongst university rugby players versus noncontact sport controls.
abstract: University rugby players were compared with IQ-equivalent noncontact sports controls on memory and attentional tasks at the pre- and postseason intervals. Results revealed significant lowering for rugby players relative to controls at the postseason interval for attentional tasks with a speeded visuomotor component (ImPACT Visual Motor Speed; Trail Making Test, TMT, A and B). There was a practice effect for controls only between the pre- and postseason intervals for attentional tasks that commonly reveal improvements after a long retest interval (TMT A and B; Digits Backwards). Medium to large effect sizes implicate clinically relevant cognitive vulnerability for university-level rugby players in association with years of exposure to repetitive concussive injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
authors.forename: Ann B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Shuttleworth-Edwards
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Radloff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult