Investigating a Novel Measure of Brain Networking Following Sports Concussion

Abstract

Clinicians managing sports-related concussions are left to their clinical judgment in making diagnoses and return-to-play decisions. This study was designed to evaluate the utility of a novel measure of functional brain networking for concussion management. 24 athletes with acutely diagnosed concussion and 21 control participants were evaluated in a research laboratory. At each of the 4 post-injury time points, participants completed the Axon assessment of neurocognitive function, a self-report symptom inventory, and the auditory oddball and go/no-go tasks while electroencephalogram (EEG) readings were recorded. Brain Network Activation (BNA) scores were calculated from EEG data related to the auditory oddball and go/no-go tasks. BNA scores were unable to differentiate between the concussed and control groups or by self-report symptom severity. These findings conflict with previous work implementing electrophysiological assessments in concussed athletes, suggesting that BNA requires additional investigation and refinement before clinical implementation.

Figure 1

The process by which standard EEG signals are processed to determine brain networks associated with a given task.

Figure 2

Mean and standard deviation BNA scores presented by assessment point for each network. Dashed lines represent concussed athletes and the solid lines represent controls. No significant differences were noted (p’s>0.05).

Figure 3

Mean and standard deviation BNA scores presented by assessment point and symptom severity group for each network. Symptom severity was determined by self-report on the SCAT2 symptom list with a report of 0 (Low-normal), 1-5 (Broadly Normal), 6-12 (Borderline), 13-26 (Very High), 4 (Extremely High).