The effect of subconcussive head impacts on cognitive ability, mental health, and educational performance in elite youth athletes

Background: Blows to the head sustained during contact sport can lead to subconcussive impacts1. Whilst subconcussive impacts do not cause acute concussion symptoms, they do lead to microstructural and functional changes to the brain and are linked to neurocognitive impairment2. It is now thought that cumulative subconcussive head impacts cause the neurodegenerative disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which leads to brain atrophy and changes in mood and cognitive ability3. This project will inform and guide educational management of sport-related subconcussive head impacts by determining how cognitive skills are affected by subconcussion, using a novel combination of accelerometry, electroencephalography, and cognitive tests.

Concussion symptoms are known to have adverse effects on academic learning4, which in turn can negatively impact mental health5. One possible reason for these adverse effects is due to impairment in cognitive functioning6. Educational environments are often noisy and distracting, and the brain needs to be able to cope with this environment to support academic achievement. The extent to which subconcussive impacts have functional consequences for everyday cognitive functioning, such as the ability to understand and remember information in noisy environments, is currently unknown. It is also unclear whether subconcussions are linked to changes in mental health. And this is despite the far higher prevalence of cumulative subconcussive head impacts relative to concussions.