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May 29, 2012; 78 (22) Articles

Cognitive effects of one season of head impacts in a cohort of collegiate contact sport athletes

T.W. McAllister, L.A. Flashman, A. Maerlender, R.M. Greenwald, J.G. Beckwith, T.D. Tosteson, J.J. Crisco, P.G. Brolinson, S.M. Duma, A.-C. Duhaime, M.R. Grove, J.H. Turco
First published May 16, 2012, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182582fe7
T.W. McAllister
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L.A. Flashman
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A. Maerlender
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R.M. Greenwald
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Citation
Cognitive effects of one season of head impacts in a cohort of collegiate contact sport athletes
T.W. McAllister, L.A. Flashman, A. Maerlender, R.M. Greenwald, J.G. Beckwith, T.D. Tosteson, J.J. Crisco, P.G. Brolinson, S.M. Duma, A.-C. Duhaime, M.R. Grove, J.H. Turco
Neurology May 2012, 78 (22) 1777-1784; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182582fe7

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This article has a correction. Please see:

  • Cognitive effects of one season of head impacts in a cohort of collegiate contact sport athletes - July 24, 2012
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Abstract

Objective: To determine whether exposure to repetitive head impacts over a single season negatively affects cognitive performance in collegiate contact sport athletes.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort study at 3 Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association athletic programs. Participants were 214 Division I college varsity football and ice hockey players who wore instrumented helmets that recorded the acceleration-time history of the head following impact, and 45 noncontact sport athletes. All athletes were assessed prior to and shortly after the season with a cognitive screening battery (ImPACT) and a subgroup of athletes also were assessed with 7 measures from a neuropsychological test battery.

Results: Few cognitive differences were found between the athlete groups at the preseason or postseason assessments. However, a higher percentage of the contact sport athletes performed more poorly than predicted postseason on a measure of new learning (California Verbal Learning Test) compared to the noncontact athletes (24% vs 3.6%; p < 0.006). On 2 postseason cognitive measures (ImPACT Reaction Time and Trails 4/B), poorer performance was significantly associated with higher scores on several head impact exposure metrics.

Conclusion: Repetitive head impacts over the course of a single season may negatively impact learning in some collegiate athletes. Further work is needed to assess whether such effects are short term or persistent.

GLOSSARY

ANCOVA=
analysis of covariance;
ANOVA=
analysis of variance;
BVMT-R=
Brief Visual Memory Test–Revised;
CG=
center of gravity;
CVLT=
California Verbal Learning Test;
D-KEFS=
Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System;
HIE=
head impact exposure;
HITsp=
measure of head impact severity;
ImPACT=
Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test;
MTBI=
mild traumatic brain injury;
NCAA=
National Collegiate Athletic Association;
PASAT=
Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task;
WRAT IV=
Wide Range Achievement Test 4

Footnotes

  • Study funding: NIH R01HD048638 and RO1NS055020 and the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE 04-07).

  • Editorial, page 1712

  • Received July 14, 2011.
  • Accepted January 25, 2012.
  • Copyright © 2012 by AAN Enterprises, Inc.
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