Neurophysiological Abnormalities after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Athletes
Open Access
- Author:
- Hartley, Jessica
- Area of Honors:
- Kinesiology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Semyon Slobounov, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Semyon Slobounov, Thesis Supervisor
Stephen Jacob Piazza, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- fMRI
EEG
MTBI - Abstract:
- Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is one of the most common injuries seen among athletes. More commonly known as concussions, these injuries are often overlooked and treated poorly due to misconceptions athletes and parents have. Because MTBI is difficult to diagnose in athletes, it is important to study why and how they occur. It is hypothesized that major significant neurophysiological abnormalities will be seen in both functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalogram (EEG) after MTBI. This study consisted of forty-four collegiate rugby players participating in the EEG studies, where sixteen subjects were uninjured and used as a baseline control and where twenty-eight subjects were injured and received a MTBI. The study also consisted of thirty collegiate athletes participating in the fMRI study, fifteen subjects being uninjured and considered to be the control, while fifteen subjects were injured after suffering from a MTBI. According to the EEG results, no significant differences were found for TBI discriminant, TBI Severity, and TBI probability scores between baseline and MTBI subjects. However, when looking at the data, a general trend is seen of a lesser TBI discriminant score for baseline, and greater TBI Severity Index and TBI probability index for the MTBI subjects. According to the low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) analysis conducted, the most common areas affected by the brain injury in concussed patients are the parahippocampal gyrus in the limbic lobe and the middle temporal gyrus in the temporal lobe. According to the fMRI results, in all comparisons between conditions, the subjects suffering from a MTBI had significantly higher levels of activation in the brain when performing tasks compared to the control subjects. According to the results of this study, as well as others completed in the past, it is important to use a comprehensive approach in dealing with a MTBI obtained by an athlete in sport, which includes neuropsychological tests, EEG, and fMRI.