title: Postconcussion symptoms are associated with cerebral cortical thickness in healthy collegiate and preparatory school ice hockey players.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the degree to which concussion history and postconcussive symptoms are associated with cortical morphology among male hockey players.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male subjects (n = 29), ranging in age from 14 to 23 years (mean 17.8 years), were recruited from preparatory school and collegiate ice hockey teams and underwent neuroimaging and baseline Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) testing. Cerebral cortical thickness was regressed against ImPACT Total Symptom Score (TSS), concussion history, as well as baseline measures of psychopathology. Reconstruction of surfaces and cortical thickness analysis were conducted with FreeSurfer (version 5.3.0).
  
  
  RESULTS
  ImPACT TSS was inversely associated with local cortical thickness in widespread brain areas. Associations were revealed in a host of frontal as well as bilateral temporoparietal cortices. Conversely, concussion history was not associated with cortical thickness. An "Age by Concussion History" interaction was associated with thickness in the right ventrolateral and right parietal cortices. Post-hoc analysis revealed that concussed participants did not exhibit age-related cortical thinning in these regions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have identified an association between brain structure and postconcussive symptoms among young, otherwise-healthy male athletes. Postconcussive symptoms and related reductions in cortical thickness may be tied to participation in a full-contact sport that involves frequent blows to the head.
authors.affiliation: Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Child Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Albaugh
authors.affiliation: Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Child Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT.
authors.forename: Joshua P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Nickerson
authors.affiliation: Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Child Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT.
authors.forename: Cole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zweber
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Slauterbeck
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT; University of Vermont MRI Center for Biomedical Imaging, Burlington, VT.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hipko
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT; University of Vermont MRI Center for Biomedical Imaging, Burlington, VT.
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gonyea
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT; University of Vermont MRI Center for Biomedical Imaging, Burlington, VT; Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Trevor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.affiliation: DC Hybrid Skating, Milwaukee, WI.
authors.forename: J Curtis
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Brackenbury
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT; University of Vermont MRI Center for Biomedical Imaging, Burlington, VT.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Watts
authors.affiliation: Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Child Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT. Electronic address: james.hudziak@uvm.edu.
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hudziak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D006688:Hockey / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D038223:Post-Concussion Syndrome / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult