Does Frequency of Baseline Testing Influence Concussion Diagnostic Decision Making Among College Athletes.

Objective: Concussion is a growing public health concern given the large number of youth and collegiate athletes participating in collision sports. Sport-related concussions can have an adverse impact on student-athletes' health and academic performance. Athletic programs within academic organizations are motivated to employ the most effective and efficient diagnostic and recovery procedures to minimize the duration and impact of these symptoms on student-athletes' functioning.

The general ability measure for adults underrepresents true IQ in a high-functioning aviation population.

The General Ability Measure for Adults (GAMA) is a brief nonverbal assessment of general intellectual ability. Presently, there is a lack of research involving the use of the GAMA in a high-functioning population. Aviation pilots ( 59 were referred for a neuropsychological evaluation and were concluded to be cognitively intact.

AD8 patient-informant discrepancy predicts insight and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease.

This study aimed to improve understanding of insight among individuals with Alzheimer's disease using patient and informant ratings of impairment on the AD8. Retrospective cohort data were used from 540 patients with a mean age of 81.1 (SD = 6.

Comparison of the PHQ9 and ImPACT symptom cluster scores in measuring depression among college athletes.

Accurate identification of athletes in need of mental health services is essential. The clinical utility of the Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9), a stand-alone measure of depression, was explored among Division II college athletes ( = 1,209) completing pre-participation concussion baseline assessments (mean age = 19.28), which also included Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT).

The Rey Dot Counting Test as a Tool for Detecting Suboptimal Performance in Athlete Baseline Testing.

Objective: The limitations of Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT)'s embedded validity measures (EVMs) are well-documented, as estimates suggest up to 35% of invalid baseline performances go undetected. Few studies have examined standalone performance validity tests (PVT) as a supplement to ImPACT's EVMs.

Method: College athletes (n = 1,213) were administered a preseason baseline assessment that included ImPACT and the Rey Dot Counting Test (DCT), a standalone PVT, among other measures.

Change in Balance Performance Predicts Neurocognitive Dysfunction and Symptom Endorsement in Concussed College Athletes.

Objective: Following concussion, there is an array of sequelae including symptom burden, neurocognitive dysfunction, and balance impairment. However, the magnitude of change in balance performance has yet to be explored fully regarding its relationship with neurocognitive functioning or symptom endorsement. The present study hypothesized that the magnitude of change in balance performance from baseline to post-trauma would have unique predictive power in identifying acute clinical outcomes.

Normative values of the Rey Word Recognition Test in college athletes.

Improved detection of sport-related concussions can be enhanced by performance validity tests, such as the Rey Word Recognition Test (WRT). The WRT is brief and in the public domain but no norms exist for healthy college-athletes. The present study identified such normative values in a large college-athlete sample.

Performance of college athletes on the 10-item word list of SCAT5.

Objectives: The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-5 (SCAT5) was published in 2017; however, normative performance within the college athlete population on the optional 10-item word list has not been described. This study reports normative values for immediate memory trials, total immediate memory score and delayed recall of the 10-item word list.

Methods: The SCAT5 was administered as part of the preparticipation medical testing to 514 collegiate student-athletes, aged 17-23 (=19.

Updating the Rey Dot Counting Test for Use in Collegiate Baseline Concussion Testing.

Athletes occasionally attempt to lower their baseline scores to mask the effects of a concussion during post-trauma assessment, a phenomenon known as sandbagging. In order to help prevent this from occurring, the Rey Dot Counting Test (DCT) was examined as a potential measure to be added to a Division II university screening battery. Investigators utilized samples of athletes at baseline and non-athlete students instructed to provide honest effort or suppressed effort, either naïvely or coached.

The role of executive functioning in quality of life in pediatric intractable epilepsy.

Objective: Children with epilepsy are vulnerable to executive dysfunction, but the relationship between executive functioning (EF) and quality of life (QOL) in children with epilepsy is not fully delineated. This exploratory study elucidated the relationship between ecological EF and QOL in pediatric intractable epilepsy.

Method: Fifty-four consecutively referred pediatric epilepsy surgery candidates and their parents were administered IQ measures, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), and the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy (QOLCE) as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Status and Baseline Neurocognitive Performance in High School Athletes.

Approximately 136,000 concussions occur annually in American high school sports. Neuropsychological data indicate that children with preexisting cognitive difficulties, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), may have protracted recovery from concussion. ADHD, with an estimated prevalence of 11% in youth, may increase an athlete's vulnerability to sustaining sports-related traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Normative values of major SCAT2 and SCAT3 components for a college athlete population.

The Sports Concussion Assessment Tool-2 (SCAT2) is a posttrauma evaluative screener for concussion. Although a revised version (SCAT3) recently was released, the SCAT2 continues in use. Moreover, there have been no reports of normative values with college athletes with the SCAT2 or SCAT3.

History of neuropsychological study of sport-related concussion.

Although the medical literature has a long history of description and comment on concussion, the occurrence of concussion within the context of sports other than boxing was not judged to be problematic until the 1980s. Neuropsychological assessment played a critical and integral role in identifying the cognitive sequelae of concussion and mapping out the short- and long-term vagaries in recovery. This paper captures that history and expands upon current applications of neuropsychological assessment in the diagnosis and management of sport-related concussion.

Sport and team differences on baseline measures of sport-related concussion.

Context: With the advent of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA's) mandating the presence and practice of concussion-management plans in collegiate athletic programs, institutions will consider potential approaches for concussion management, including both baseline and normative comparison approaches.

Objective: To examine sport and team differences in baseline performance on a computer-based neurocognitive measure and 2 standard sideline measures of cognition and balance and to determine the potential effect of premorbid factors sex and height on baseline performance.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Vibrotactile pattern perception as a method for the assessment of brain dysfunction.

An immediate need exists for a portable diagnostic device for the assessment of cortical function, and diagnosis of mTBI. This paper presents initial results using a vibrotactile acuity test for the objective and quantitative diagnosis of acute mTBI suspects. mTBI is hypothesized to involve derangement or damage to the underlying cortical network.

Status of computerized cognitive testing in aging: a systematic review.

Background: Early detection of cognitive decline in the elderly has become of heightened importance in parallel with the recent advances in therapeutics. Computerized assessment might be uniquely suited to early detection of changes in cognition in the elderly. We present here a systematic review of the status of computer-based cognitive testing, focusing on detection of cognitive decline in the aging population.

Neuropsychological evaluation in the diagnosis and management of sports-related concussion.

A mild traumatic brain injury in sports is typically referred to as a concussion. This is a common injury in amateur and professional athletics, particularly in contact sports. This injury can be very distressing for the athlete, his or her family, coaches, and school personnel.

Designing for older adult users of handheld technology.

There are few interface design guidelines for handheld devices used by adults sixty years and older. Yet, this growing user group would benefit from the portability offered by such technology in promoting health management and social interaction. In this paper, we describe a usability framework for conducting studies on the use of a PocketPC by older adult caregivers.

In-home monitoring of persons with dementia: ethical guidelines for technology research and development.

Innovative technologies are rapidly emerging that offer caregivers the support and means to assist older adults with cognitive impairment to continue living "at home." Technology research and development efforts applied to older adults with dementia invoke special grant review and institutional review board concerns, to ensure not only safe but also ethically appropriate interventions. Evidence is emerging, however, that tensions are growing between innovators and reviewers.

Sex differences in outcome following sports-related concussion.

Object: Females comprise an increasing percentage of the athlete population across all age groups, and analysis of recent literature reveals that they sustain more concussions in collegiate sports. Results of human and animal studies indicate that females may have poorer outcomes after traumatic brain injury; however, no return-to-play guideline takes sex or other individual differences into account. In the present study the authors evaluated the influence of patient sex on objective neurocognitive performance and subjective reporting of symptoms following sports-related concussion.

Soccer heading frequency predicts neuropsychological deficits.

This study investigated the presence of neuropsychological deficits associated with hitting the ball with one's head (heading) during soccer play. A neuro-cognitive test battery was administered to 60 male soccer players, high school, amateur and professional level, and 12 nonplaying control participants. The effects of currently reported heading behavior as well as that of estimated lifetime heading experience on neuropsychological test performance were examined.

Short-term and long-term outcome of athletic closed head injuries.

The continued development of the sport environment as a laboratory for clinical investigation of mild head injury has greatly advanced the use of neuropsychological assessment in evaluating brain-injured athletes, and tracking their symptoms and recovery in an objective manner. The use of neurocognitive baseline measures has become critical in determining whether a brain-injured athlete has recovered function sufficiently to return to play. The rapid growth of computerized and web-based neurocognitive assessment measures provides an efficient, valid technology to put such testing within the reach of most institutions and organizations that field sport teams.

Recency and frequency of soccer heading interact to decrease neurocognitive performance.

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.

Symptom-based assessment of the severity of a concussion.

Object: Current grading systems of concussion and return-to-play guidelines have little empirical support. The authors therefore examined the relationships of the characteristics and symptoms of concussion and the history of concussion to three indicators of concussion severity-number of immediate symptoms, number of symptoms at the initial follow-up examination, and duration of symptoms--to establish an empirical basis for grading concussions.

Methods: Forty-seven athletes who sustained concussions were administered alternate forms of an Internet-based neurocognitive test until their performances were within normal limits relative to baseline levels.