Citation

Webbe FM, Ochs SR. Appl. Neuropsychol. 2003; 10(1): 31-41.

Affiliation

School of Psychology, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W. University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA. webb@fit.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1207/S15324826AN1001_5

PMID

12734073

Abstract

This study investigated the role of heading recency interacting with heading frequency in determining neuropsychological deficits associated with heading the ball during soccer play. Sixty-four high-ability male soccer players ages 16 to 34 completed the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), the Trailmaking Test, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), the Facial Recognition Test, the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, and the Shipley Scales. Heading recency interacted with heading frequency, such that players with the highest self-reported estimates of heading who also experienced heading within the previous 7 days scored significantly lower on CVLT, Shipley, Trailmaking, and PASAT than other combinations of heading and recency. Although strict ball-to-head contacts could not be isolated as sufficient to cause this interaction, these results increase the weight of evidence that heading behavior is problematic for causing at least transient cognitive impairment.

Language: en