Association of Previous Concussion with Hippocampal Volume and Symptoms in Collegiate-Aged Athletes. J Neurotrauma 2021 May 15;38(10):1358-1367
Date
01/06/2021Pubmed ID
33397203Pubmed Central ID
PMC8082726DOI
10.1089/neu.2020.7143Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85105752894 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 9 CitationsAbstract
There is concern that previous concussion and contact-sport exposure may have negative effects on brain structure and function. Accurately quantifying previous concussion is complicated by the fact that multiple definitions exist, with recent definitions allowing for diagnosis based on the presence of symptoms alone (Concussion in Sport Group criteria; CISG) rather than the presence of acute injury characteristics such as alterations in mental status (American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine criteria; ACRM). The goals of the current work were to determine the effects of previous concussion and contact-sport exposure on gray matter structure and clinical measures in healthy, young-adult athletes and determine the extent to which these associations are influenced by diagnostic criteria used to retrospectively quantify concussions. One-hundred eight collegiate-aged athletes were enrolled; 106 athletes were included in final analyses (age, 21.37 ± 1.69; 33 female). Participants completed a clinical battery of self-report and neurocognitive measures and magnetic resonance imaging to quantify subcortical volumes and cortical thickness. Semistructured interviews were conducted to measure exposure to contact sports and the number of previous concussions based on CISG and ACRM criteria. There was a significant association of concussion-related and psychological symptoms with previous concussions based on ACRM (ps < 0.05), but not CISG, criteria. Hippocampal volume was inversely associated with the number of previous concussions for both criteria (ps < 0.05). Findings provide evidence that previous concussions are associated with smaller hippocampal volumes and greater subjective clinical symptoms in otherwise healthy athletes and highlight the importance of diagnostic criteria used to quantify previous concussion.
Author List
Meier TB, España LY, Kirk AJ, Nader AM, Powell JE, Nelson LD, Mayer AR, Brett BLAuthors
Benjamin Brett PhD Assistant Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of WisconsinTimothy B. Meier PhD Associate Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Lindsay D. Nelson PhD Associate Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AthletesAthletic Injuries
Brain Concussion
Female
Hippocampus
Humans
Male
Mental Status and Dementia Tests
Young Adult
