@article{ref1,
title="Abnormalities in functional connectivity in collegiate football athletes with and without a concussion history: implications and role of neuroactive kynurenine pathway metabolites",
journal="Journal of neurotrauma",
year="2016",
author="Meier, Timothy and Lancaster, Melissa and Mayer, Andrew and Teague, T. Kent and Savitz, Jonathan",
volume="34",
number="4",
pages="824-837",
abstract="There is a great need to identify potential long-term consequences of contact-sport exposure and to identify molecular pathways that may be associated with these changes. We tested the hypothesis that football players with (Ath-mTBI; n=25) and without a concussion history (Ath; n=24) have altered resting state functional connectivity in regions with previously documented structural changes relative to healthy controls without football or concussion history (HC; n=27). As a secondary aim, we tested the hypothesis that group differences in functional connectivity are moderated by the relative ratio of neuroprotective to neurotoxic metabolites of the kynurenine pathway. Ath-mTBI had significantly increased connectivity of motor cortex to the supplementary motor area relative to Ath and HC. In contrast, both Ath-mTBI and Ath had increased connectivity between the left orbital frontal cortex and the right lateral frontal cortex, and between the left cornu ammonis 2-3/dentate gyrus (CA2-3/DG) of the hippocampus and the middle and posterior cingulate cortices relative to HC. The relationship between the ratio of plasma concentrations of kynurenic acid to quinolinic acid (KYNA/QUIN) and left pregenual anterior cingulate cortex connectivity to multiple regions as well as KYNA/QUIN and right CA2-3/DG connectivity to multiple regions differed significantly according to football and concussion history. The results suggest that football exposure with and without concussion history can have a significant effect on intrinsic brain connectivity and implicate the kynurenine metabolic pathway as one potential moderator of functional connectivity dependent on football exposure and concussion history.   Keywords: American football; <p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0897-7151",
doi="10.1089/neu.2016.4599",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/neu.2016.4599"
}