Baseline neurocognitive assessment in sports is becoming more popular — and more useful for helping players better recover from one or more concussions.
Turn Text Only Off
Page Utilities
Click on any phrase to play the video at that point.
Baseline neurocognitive assessment has become
very popular in both the high school and professional games recently.
The idea of doing a pre-assessment of
individuals before they get their concussion, at the beginning of the season,
and then being able to track their recovery over time after they've had their
concussion has given us a lot of information as to how quickly the brain
appears to recover. We know that in the college athlete,
and the professional athlete, it looks like the recovery process is relatively quick.
It's anywhere from a couple of days to a week to 10 days to recover from a concussion.
What we don't know about is younger players.
There has not been as much work with the high school players,
and, in fact, with the middle school players there is almost nothing
that we have in the scientific literature to look at their recovery curves.
What we do know, though, is in animal models it looks like an immature brain
does not recover as quickly as a mature brain.
And this flies in the face of what we know about children,
which is they seem to get better from every sort of other problem, medical problem,
that they have. They get better quickly and are back to their usual selves.
Well, that's not the case with a brain injury.
So the younger you are, the more at risk you are for a longer recovery.
And there again, if you have one head injury on top of another,
if you haven't allowed that brain to recover fully, you run the risk of something
either like Second-impact Syndrome or maybe, if you have the multiple injuries
on top of each other, eventually having a long-term neurologic difficulty.
Produced by Victoria Tilney McDonough and Brian King, BrainLine.
Jeffrey Barth, PhD, ABPP-CN holds the position of professor and co-director of the Neurocognitive Assessment Laboratory, and section head, Neurocognitive Studies in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, with a joint appointment in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
The contents of Brainline (the “Web Site”), such as text, graphics, images, information obtained from the Web Site’s licensors and/or consultants, and other material contained on the Web Site (collectively, the “Content”) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for medical, legal, or other professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Specifically, with regards to medical issues, always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Web Site. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. The Web Site does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Web Site. Reliance on any information provided by the Web Site or by employees, volunteers or contractors or others associated with the Web Site and/or other visitors to the Web Site is solely at your own risk.
Related Content
Audio/Video:
Yes, some sports could be safer — and should be — but not participating in sports at all is like being a boat that never sets sail.- Finding a Balance: Sports and Safety
- Many professional sports have supportive alliances with youth sports. Learn how the CDC helps.
- Professional and Youth Sports Leagues Work Together for Safety
- Blatant hits and fouls are not necessary in kids' sports; rule changes could make sports safer.
- Making Kids' Sports Safer
- The hormonal and morphological structures in girls make them more vulnerable to TBIs than boys.
- Why Are Girls More Likely to Sustain a TBI in Sports?
- A jarred brain needs sufficient time to rest and recover. It's simple, but makes all the difference in the long term.
See all videos interviews with Dr. Ann McKee.
- How Can We Improve the Way Sports Handle Brain Injuries?
- A doctor/parent talks about trying to find a balance between the benefits and dangers of letting his children play contact sports.
- Should You Let Your Child Play Contact Sports?
- During any given season in football or ice hockey, for example, a player has a 5-10% chance of sustaining a concussion.
- How Common Are Concussions in Contact Sports?
- CTE is a neurodegeneration, a brain disease that's progressive and characterized by a build-up of a protein called tau. See all video interviews with Dr. Ann McKee.
- What Is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy?
- “Brown Is Bad, Brown Is Cell Death.” The “brown” is tau, a protein that accumulates in the brains of people, like professional football players and boxers, who have sustained repeat blows to the head. Learn about the research and education going on at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, a collaboration between Boston University School of Medicine and the Sports Legacy Institute. See all videos interviews with Dr. Ann McKee.
- Game Changers
- Jason Belser played 11 seasons in the NFL and is now an executive with the National Football League Players Association. Here he discusses why athletes might resist leaving the game after a possible concussion. Produced by Brian King and Noel Gunther. Transcript of this video.
- Jason Belser Discusses Concussion and the NFL
Articles:
- Testing the Test; Impact Reliability Study
- REAP the Benefits of Good Concussion Management
- Top Four Concussion Screener Apps for Athletes
- Opinion: Surgeon Tackles Brain Injury in Youth Sports
- Sports and Concussion: “When in Doubt, Sit It Out”
- ACTive: Free Concussion Training for Sports Coaches
- Concussion and Sports: Know Your Game!
- What Should Sports Coaches Know?
Comments [2]
Your review of the role Neurocognitive testing can play in assessing payers pre and post concussion relative to return to play decisions and outlining the dangers of concussions was well put. However, I was disappointed by the focus on Neurocognitive testing as if it was the âanswerâ to the problem. Hence this email to draw your attention to the NCAA position statement on concussion management which can be reviewed at: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/327bf600424d263692cdd6132e10b8df/Memo+Concussion+Managment+04292010.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=327bf600424d263692cdd6132e10b8df The critical emphasis being that a 3 pronged approach based on symptoms, cognition and balance control is required to understand the impact of a concussion and the resolution of the same. In short, no one test stands alone in the process. Thank you for your time. JON F. PETERS, Ph.D. | Vice President & General Manager NeuroCom® International, Inc. 9570 SE Lawnfield Road, Clackamas, OR 97015 ( + 1 503 353 4011| * JPeters@natus.com Ã+1 503 702 3896 | à +1 503 653 1991
BrainLine Footer
Getting Started |
Site Features |
Follow Us |
About |
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
RSS Feeds
BrainLine.org is a WETA website funded by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center through a contract with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. Government funding support is not an endorsement of WETA or any of its products, including this website.
© 2013 WETA All Rights Reserved
I am a unique recovering multiple Severe TBI Victim. I have a mature brain and therefore maybe the reason I am fortunate to recover from this most recent injury which happen in 2009. Struck my a car resulted in brain bleed plus 2 severe TBIs. MY COMA LASTED TWO WEEKS AND HA PRE AMNESIA UPTO 2-4WKS PRIOR, and total amnesia of the event with partial memory of the day and prior day. During recovery I took my 6 yr anniversity PA certification Bords anf rec'd a passing score thus retaining my title of PA-C, I was able to return part time to my occupation with the Department of Defense as a TBI Screener and Provider, here at Fort Carson (the seed of military TBI Program) as a credential provider/ impaired provider. Although, I have display of remarkable recovery I feel my medical providers, my family and federal work comp section have different plans and are encouraging be to move on and out thus using my disability as an obstacle to my potential therapeutic recovery. I personnally feel their is an avenue here for a success story for TBI VICTIMS instead of retiring me to the woodwork. The current medical and society population is unaware of the financial, emotional and self esteem toll placed on the victim and the family. The young soldiers are experiencing the deleima of a young brain and drawn in to the world of uncertainty. If they say Yes Imay have rec'd a concussion, the command and their leaders lable them as a trouble maker, but l;ack of knowledge and following orders reluctingly remove them from combat. The soldier is than burden with guilt and in some cases survoir guilt. The end product is denying the incident and upon redeployment home experiencing the symptoms and frustration taken out on the family or dealt eneffectively by the leadership. Matters turn worse when the soldier attempts to seek help by going AWOL, alcohol use or Drugs. Confiding in friends is no help because the soldier has changed or changing and friends distancing themselves. Matters worsen when the soldier discharge attempts care thru VA and beuraccracy confuses the soldier even more.
Jan 7th, 2011 7:40pm