Weihong Yuan, Jonathan Dudley, Kim D Barber Foss, Jonathan D Ellis, Staci Thomas, Ryan T Galloway, Christopher A DiCesare, James L Leach, Janet Adams, Thomas Maloney, Brooke Gadd, David Smith, Jeff N Epstein, Dustin R Grooms, Kelsey Logan, David R Howell, Mekibib Altaye, Gregory D Myer
Recent neuroimaging studies have suggested that repetitive subconcussive head impacts, even after only one sport season, may lead to pre- to post-season structural and functional alterations in male high school football athletes. However, data on female athletes are limited. In the current investigation, we aimed to (1) assess the longitudinal pre- to post-season changes in functional MRI (fMRI) of working memory and working memory performance, (2) quantify the association between the pre- to post-season change in fMRI of working memory and the exposure to head impact and working memory performance, and (3) assess whether wearing a neck collar designed to reduce intracranial slosh via mild compression of the jugular veins can ameliorate the changes in fMRI brain activation observed in the female high school athletes who did not wear collars after a full soccer season...
June 1, 2018: Journal of Neurotrauma