Citation

Matser JT, Kessels AG, Lezak MD, Troost J. J. Clin. Exp. Neuropsychol. 2001; 23(6): 770-774.

Affiliation

Department of Anatomy, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. erik.matser@st-anna.nl

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1076/jcen.23.6.770.1029

PMID

11910543

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of headers and concussions on cognitive impairment in professional soccer players. A group of 84 active professional soccer players from several premier league soccer clubs underwent neuropsychological evaluations. The dose-response relation between the number of headers in one professional season and the number of soccer-related concussions on cognitive functioning was investigated. It was found that the number of headers in one season was related to poorer results on tests measuring focused attention and visual/verbal memory. Soccer-related concussions were related to poorer results on tests measuring sustained attention and visuoperceptual processing. The findings suggest that headers as well as concussions separately contribute to cognitive impairment.

Language: en