A resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging study of concussion in collegiate athletes

Sports-related concussions are currently diagnosed through multi-domain assessment by a medical professional and may utilize neurocognitive testing as an aid. However, these tests have only been able to detect differences in the days to week post-concussion. Here, we investigate a measure of brain f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBrain imaging and behavior Vol. 9; no. 2; pp. 323 - 332
Main Authors Czerniak, Suzanne M., Sikoglu, Elif M., Liso Navarro, Ana A., McCafferty, Joseph, Eisenstock, Jordan, Stevenson, J. Herbert, King, Jean A., Moore, Constance M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer US 01.06.2015
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Adolescent
Athletes
Athletic Injuries - physiopathology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Brain - physiopathology
Brain Concussion - physiopathology
Brain Mapping
Brain research
Cognitive ability
Concussion
Executive function
Female
Humans
Interview, Psychological
Investigations
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Medical imaging
Medical schools
Neuroimaging
Neuropsychological Tests
Neuropsychology
Neuroradiology
Neurosciences
Original Research
Psychiatry
Rest
Student athletes
Young Adult
United States > US
Massachusetts
Functional connectivity
fMRI
Resting state
Concussion
Neurocognition
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN1931-7557
1931-7565
1931-7565
DOI10.1007/s11682-014-9312-1

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Summary:Sports-related concussions are currently diagnosed through multi-domain assessment by a medical professional and may utilize neurocognitive testing as an aid. However, these tests have only been able to detect differences in the days to week post-concussion. Here, we investigate a measure of brain function, namely resting state functional connectivity, which may detect residual brain differences in the weeks to months after concussion. Twenty-one student athletes (9 concussed within 6 months of enrollment; 12 non-concussed; between ages 18 and 22 years) were recruited for this study. All participants completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task and the Color-Word Interference Test. Neuroimaging data, specifically resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data, were acquired to examine resting state functional connectivity. Two sample t-tests were used to compare the neurocognitive scores and resting state functional connectivity patterns among concussed and non-concussed participants. Correlations between neurocognitive scores and resting state functional connectivity measures were also determined across all subjects. There were no significant differences in neurocognitive performance between concussed and non-concussed groups. Concussed subjects had significantly increased connections between areas of the brain that underlie executive function. Across all subjects, better neurocognitive performance corresponded to stronger brain connectivity. Even at rest, brains of concussed athletes may have to ‘work harder’ than their healthy peers to achieve similar neurocognitive results. Resting state brain connectivity may be able to detect prolonged brain differences in concussed athletes in a more quantitative manner than neurocognitive test scores.
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Elif Sikoglu, Center for Comparative NeuroImaging, 303 Belmont Street, Worcester MA 01604, Phone: 508-856-6144, Fax: 508-856-8090, muazzez.sikoglu@umassmed.edu
Both authors contributed equally to this work
Joseph McCafferty, Center for Comparative NeuroImaging, 303 Belmont Street, Worcester MA 01604, Phone: 508-856-8039, Fax: 508-856-8090, jpm059@bucknell.edu
J Herbert Stevenson, UMass Memorial Medical Center, Hahnemann Campus, 281 Lincoln Street, Worcester, MA 01605, Phone: 978-665-5901, john.stevenson@umassmemorial.org
Author Contact Information: Suzanne Czerniak, Center for Comparative NeuroImaging, 303 Belmont Street, Worcester MA 01604, Phone: 508-856-8183, Fax: 508-856-8090, suzanne.czerniak@umassmed.edu
Ana A Liso Navarro, Office Médico-Pédagogique, University of Geneva Medical School, Rue David Dufour 1, Case postale 50, 1211, Geneva 8, Switzerland, aliso@bluewin.ch
Jean A King, Center for Comparative NeuroImaging, 303 Belmont Street, Worcester MA 01604, Phone: 508-856-8035, Fax: 508-856-8090, jean.king@umassmed.edu
Jordan Eisenstock, UMass Memorial Medical Center, Memorial Campus, 119 Belmont Street, Worcester, MA 01605, Phone: 508-334-6641, jordan.eisenstock@umassmemorial.org
ISSN:1931-7557
1931-7565
1931-7565
DOI:10.1007/s11682-014-9312-1