TY - JOUR PY - 2019// TI - Gender differences in nonlinear motor performance following concussion JO - Journal of sport and health science A1 - Studenka, Breanna E. A1 - Raikes, Adam SP - 540 EP - 547 VL - 8 IS - 6 N2 - PURPOSE: To quantify differences in nonlinear aspects of performance on a seated visual-motor tracking task between clinically asymptomatic males and females with and without a self-reported mild traumatic brain injury history.

METHODS: Seventy-three individuals with a self-reported concussion history (age: 21.40 ± 2.25 years, mean ± SD) and 75 without completed the visual-motor tracking task (age: 21.50 ± 2.00 years). Participants pressed an index finger against a force sensor, tracing a line across a computer screen (visual-motor tracking). The produced signal's root-mean-square error (RMSE), sample entropy (SampEn, a measure of regularity), and average power (AvP) between 0 and 12 Hz were calculated.

RESULTS: Males with a history of 0 or 1 concussion had greater RMSE (worse performance) than females with 0 (< 0.0001) and 1 concussion (p = 0.052). Additionally, females with 2+ concussions exhibited lower SampEn than females with no history (p = 0.001) or a history of 1 concussion (p = 0.026). Finally, females with 2+ concussions had lower 8-12 Hz AvP than males with 2+ concussions (p = 0.031). Few differences were observed in the male participants.

CONCLUSION: Females with a self-reported history of multiple concussions exhibited lower SampEn in the visual-motor tracking-task force output structure as compared to those with no reported history of concussion and their male counterparts. Lower SampEn and lower power between 8 and 12 Hz indicated persistent impairment in visual processing and feed-forward or predictive motor control systems.

© 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Shanghai University of Sport.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 2095-2546 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2017.03.006 ID - ref1 ER -