Effects of Career Duration, Concussion History, and Playing Position on White Matter Microstructure and Functional Neural Recruitment in Former College and Professional Football Athletes.

ABSTRACT: Purpose To better understand the relationship between exposure to concussive and subconcussive head impacts, white matter integrity, and functional task-related neural activity in former U.S. football athletes. Materials and Methods Between 2011 and 2013, 61 cognitively unimpaired former collegiate and professional football players (age range, 52-65 years) provided informed consent to participate in this cross-sectional study. Participants were stratified across three crossed factors: career duration, concussion history, and primary playing position. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) percent signal change (PSC) were measured with diffusion-weighted and task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. Analyses of variance of FA and BOLD PSC

SUBMITTER: Clark MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5834225 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature