Citation

Lovell MR, Pardini JE, Welling J, Collins MW, Bakal J, Lazar N, Roush R, Eddy WF, Becker JT. Neurosurgery 2007; 61(2): 352-9; discussion 359-60.

Affiliation

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15203, USA. lovellmr@upmc.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Congress of Neurological Surgeons)

DOI

10.1227/01.NEU.0000279985.94168.7F

PMID

17762748

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between athlete reports of symptoms, neurophysiological activation, and neuropsychological functioning is investigated in a sample of high school athletes. METHODS: All athletes were evaluated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a computer-based battery of neurocognitive tests, and a subjective symptom scale. Athletes were evaluated within approximately 1 week of injury and again after clinical recovery using all assessment modalities. RESULTS: This study found that abnormal fMRI results during the first week of recovery predicted clinical recovery. As a group, athletes who demonstrated hyperactivation on fMRI scans at the time of their first fMRI scan demonstrated a more prolonged clinical recovery than athletes who did not demonstrate hyperactivation at the time of their first fMRI scan. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate the relationship between neurophysiological, neuropsychological, and subjective symptom data in a relatively large sample composed primarily of concussed high school athletes. fMRI represents an important evolving technology for the understanding of brain recovery after concussion and may help shape return-to-play guidelines in the future.

Language: en