Summary: Reduced cortical thickness is associated with a history of concussions in former college football players, according to researchers.
Source: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine report evidence that playing collegiate football may be linked with persistent changes in brain structure. Their study, published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, found reduced cortical thickness in several frontal and temporal brain regions of former NCAA Division I football players compared with a demographically similar group of former track-and-field athletes. In many of these regions, the degree of cortical thinning correlated with the number of concussions these athletes reported.
MRI scans from 11 former college football players and 10 former track-and-field athletes were compared. The football players demonstrated significantly lower cortical thickness in portions of both frontal and temporal cortex, including the left frontal pole, right superior frontal gyrus, and areas of the superior, middle and inferior temporal gyri. The study also observed lower fractional anisotropy — a measure of white matter integrity — in the right internal capsule of the former football players.
Cal Adler, MD, professor and vice chair for clinical research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the UC College of Medicine and co-principal investigator on the project, notes that the affected prefrontal and temporal regions are important for sustained attention, memory, and executive function. “We found evidence of persistent cortical thinning in some former collegiate football players several years after the end of their active playing career,” he says. “These are cognitive domains that are critical to long-term professional and social functioning.”
Jon Divine, MD, co-principal investigator and director of primary care sports medicine at UC College of Medicine, emphasizes the need for larger, long-term studies to better define the risks and consequences associated with collegiate football. “Although many cognitive effects of concussion resolve over months, elite athletes across contact sports can show neuropathic changes by young adulthood,” Divine says. “Follow-up studies as these athletes age will be essential to determine the longer-term cognitive and functional implications.”
More than 60,000 students participate in intercollegiate football, and collegiate football is associated with a higher injury rate than many other sports at that level. Tackle football often begins in youth leagues and can continue through high school and college, exposing some players to repeated head impacts over many years. While many symptoms of concussion resolve, accumulating imaging studies suggest structural brain changes can be detected in some athletes after their playing careers end.
The authors describe this work as an exploratory, small-scale study and caution against overgeneralizing from the sample. Still, the findings add to growing concern about potential lasting neurological effects tied to repeated head injury sustained during high-level collegiate play. The observed correlations between reported concussions and cortical thinning highlight the importance of careful monitoring and follow-up for athletes who experience head trauma.
Funding: The research was supported by a grant from the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute.
Source: Alison Sampson – University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image credited to the researchers.
Original Research: Abstract for “MRI Evidence of Neuropathic Changes in Former College Football Players” by Adler, Caleb M.; DelBello, Melissa P.; Weber, Wade; Williams, Miranda; Duran, Luis Rodrigo Patino; Fleck, David; Boespflug, Erin; Eliassen, James; Strakowski, Stephen M.; and Divine, Jon. Published online October 17, 2016. DOI: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000000391
MLA: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. “Thinning Brain Tissue in College Football Players Observed.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 30 November 2016.
APA: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (2016, November 30). Thinning Brain Tissue in College Football Players Observed. NeuroscienceNews.
Chicago: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. “Thinning Brain Tissue in College Football Players Observed.” Accessed November 30, 2016.
Abstract
MRI Evidence of Neuropathic Changes in Former College Football Players
Objective: To evaluate whether participation in collegiate football is associated with measurable changes in brain structure several years after retirement. The study tested the hypothesis that former players would show relative cortical thinning and reduced white matter integrity compared with demographically similar non-contact sport athletes.
Design: A comparative imaging study measured cortical thickness and white matter integrity in former NCAA Division I football players and matched track-and-field athletes.
Setting: MRI scans were obtained at the Center for Imaging Research at the University of Cincinnati.
Participants: Eleven former football players and ten demographically similar former track-and-field athletes.
Main Outcome Measures: Normalized cortical thickness was compared between groups using two-tailed Student’s t tests. Secondary analyses used Spearman correlation to relate cortical thickness to the number of reported concussions. Fractional anisotropy in frontal white matter tracts and the internal capsule served as additional measures of white matter integrity and were compared between groups.
Results: Compared with controls, former football players showed significantly lower cortical thickness in regions of frontal and temporal cortex, including the left frontal pole, right superior frontal gyrus, portions of the superior temporal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, and right middle and superior temporal gyri. Across many of these regions, cortical thickness inversely correlated with the number of self-reported concussions. Fractional anisotropy was also reduced in the right internal capsule of former football players compared with controls.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that some structural brain changes associated with high-level collegiate football may persist after players stop competing. These preliminary results underscore the need for larger, longitudinal studies to clarify the long-term cognitive and functional consequences of repeated head impacts and concussions in young athletes.