Citation

Ruiter KI, Boshra R, DeMatteo C, Noseworthy M, Connolly JF. Brain Res. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, International Brain Research Organization, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.brainres.2020.146998

PMID

32574566

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The present study sought to determine: 1) whether concussed adolescents exhibited deficits in neurocognitive functioning as reflected by neurophysiological alterations; 2) if neurophysiological alterations could be linked to supplementary data such as the number of previous concussions and days since injury; and 3) if deficits in psychological health and behavioural tests increased during diagnosis duration.

METHODS: Twenty-six concussed adolescents were compared to twenty-eight healthy controls with no prior concussions. Self-report inventories evaluated depressive and concussive symptomatology, while behavioral tests evaluated cognitive ability qualitatively. To assess neurophysiological markers of cognitive function, two separate auditory oddball tasks were employed: 1) an active oddball task measuring executive control and attention as reflected by the N2b and P300, respectively; and 2) a passive oddball task assessing the early, automatic pre-conscious awareness processes as reflected by the MMN.

RESULTS: Concussed adolescents displayed delayed N2b and attenuated P300 responses relative to controls; showed elevated levels of depressive and concussive symptomatology; scored average-to- low-average in behavioral tests; and exhibited N2b response latencies that correlated with number of days since injury.

CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that concussed adolescents exhibit clear deficiencies in neurocognitive function, and that N2b response latency may be a marker of concussion recovery.

Language: en

Keywords

mTBI; concussion; recovery; adolescence; EEG; event-related potentials