title: Brain Network Activation as a Novel Biomarker for the Return-to-Play Pathway Following Sport-Related Brain Injury.
abstract: Children and adolescent athletes are at a higher risk for concussion than adults, and also experience longer recovery times and increased associated symptoms. It has also recently been demonstrated that multiple, seemingly mild concussions may result in exacerbated and prolonged neurological deficits. Objective assessments and return-to-play criteria are needed to reduce risk and morbidity associated with concussive events in these populations. Recent research has pushed to study the use of electroencephalography as an objective measure of brain injury. In the present case study, we present a novel approach that examines event-related potentials via a brain network activation (BNA) analysis as a biomarker of concussion and recovery. Specifically, changes in BNA scores, as indexed through this approach, offer a potential indicator of neurological health as the BNA assessment qualitatively and quantitatively indexes the network dynamics associated with brain injury. Objective tools, such as these support accurate and efficient assessment of brain injury and may offer a useful step in categorizing the temporal and spatial changes in brain activity following concussive blows, as well as the functional connectivity of brain networks, associated with concussion.
authors.affiliation: Division of Sports Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center , Cincinnati, OH , USA ; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine , Cincinnati, OH , USA ; Center for Cognition Action and Perception, Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati, OH , USA.
authors.forename: Adam W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Kiefer
authors.affiliation: Division of Sports Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center , Cincinnati, OH , USA.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Barber Foss
authors.affiliation: ElMindA Ltd , Herzliya , Israel.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reches
authors.affiliation: Division of Sports Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center , Cincinnati, OH , USA.
authors.forename: Brooke
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gadd
authors.affiliation: St. Xavier High School , Cincinnati, OH , USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.affiliation: St. Xavier High School , Cincinnati, OH , USA.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rushford
authors.affiliation: ElMindA Ltd , Herzliya , Israel.
authors.forename: Ilan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Laufer
authors.affiliation: ElMindA Ltd , Herzliya , Israel.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: Division of Sports Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center , Cincinnati, OH , USA ; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine , Cincinnati, OH , USA ; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati, OH , USA ; The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention , Waltham, MA , USA ; Sports Health and Performance Institute, The Ohio State University , Columbus, OH , USA.
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Myer
keywords: EEG; brain network activation; concussion; hockey; return to play