Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar 18;2(1):169-179.
doi: 10.1089/neur.2020.0057. eCollection 2021.

Effect of Weight Class on Regional Brain Volume, Cognition, and Other Neuropsychiatric Outcomes among Professional Fighters

Michael J C Bray  1 , Jerry Tsai  1 , Barry R Bryant  1 , Bharat R Narapareddy  1   2 , Lisa N Richey  1 , Akshay Krieg  1 , William Tobolowsky  1 , Sahar Jahed  1   3 , Guogen Shan  4 , Charles B Bernick  5   6 , Matthew E Peters  1
Affiliations

Effect of Weight Class on Regional Brain Volume, Cognition, and Other Neuropsychiatric Outcomes among Professional Fighters

Michael J C Bray et al. Neurotrauma Rep. .

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common source of functional impairment among athletes, military personnel, and the general population. Professional fighters in both boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) are at particular risk for repetitive TBI and may provide valuable insight into both the pathophysiology of TBI and its consequences. Currently, effects of fighter weight class on brain volumetrics (regional and total) and functional outcomes are unknown. Fifty-three boxers and 103 MMA fighters participating in the Professional Fighters Brain Health Study (PRBHS) underwent volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological testing. Fighters were divided into lightweight (≤139.9 lb), middleweight (140.0-178.5 lb), and heavyweight (>178.5 lb). Compared with lightweight fighters, heavyweights displayed greater yearly reductions in regional brain volume (boxers: bilateral thalami; MMA: left thalamus, right putamen) and functional performance (boxers: processing speed, simple and choice reaction; MMA: Trails A and B tests). Lightweights suffered greater reductions in regional brain volume on a per-fight basis (boxers: left thalamus; MMA: right putamen). Heavyweight fighters bore greater yearly burden of regional brain volume and functional decrements, possibly related to differing fight dynamics and force of strikes in this division. Lightweights demonstrated greater volumetric decrements on a per-fight basis. Although more research is needed, greater per-fight decrements in lightweights may be related to practices of weight-cutting, which may increase vulnerability to neurodegeneration post-TBI. Observed decrements associated with weight class may result in progressive impairments in fighter performance, suggesting interventions mitigating the burden of TBI in professional fighters may both improve brain health and increase professional longevity.

Keywords: chronic traumatic encephalopathy; fighting; martial arts; neurodegeneration; neuropsychiatry; traumatic brain injury; weight class.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Charles Bernick receives research funding support (see Funding Information section above). The remaining authors declare no relevant conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Bray, M.J.C. (2018). Examining Causes and Consequences of Mental Health Disorders in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.35052.72327 - DOI
    1. Green, R.E.A. (2016). Editorial: Brain injury as a neurodegenerative disorder. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 9, 615. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bigler, E.D. (2013). Traumatic brain injury, neuroimaging, and neurodegeneration. Front. in Hum. Neurosci. 7, 395 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bray, M.J.C., Richey, L.N., Bryant, B.R., Krieg, A., Jahed, S., Tobolowsky, W., LoBue, C., and Peters, M.E. (2021). Traumatic brain injury alters neuropsychiatric symptomatology in all-cause dementia. Alzheimers Dement. DOI: 10.1002/alz.12225 [online ahead of print] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bray, M.J.C., Pradeep, T., Arun, S., Richey, L.N., Jahed, S., Bryant, B.R., LoBue, C., Lyketsos, C.G., Kim, P., and Peters, M.E. (2019). History of traumatic brain injury interferes with accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's dementia: a nation-wide case-control study. Int. Rev. Psychiatry, 1–10 - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources