NHL New Concussion Video

Neuropsychology, Testing

The National Hockey League and NHLPA released a new video to educate athletes, families, coaches, and medical staff about sports concussion.  Narrated by Pat LaFontaine and featuring SNS members Dr. Paul Comper and Dr. Ruben Echemendia, the video discusses concussion signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and management.   https://www.nhl.com/video/2019-concussion-education-video/t-277350912/c-68701003

Is Football Bad For The Brain?

Neuropsychology

SNS President-Elect, Dr. Munro Cullum, talks about the importance of sports participation and clarifies misconceptions about the long term effects of playing football in this article for the popular press: https://www.statnews.com/2019/09/27/concussions-football-uncertain-long-term-effects/

Understanding What Tests Measure

Testing

Using confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of college athletes Dr. Art Maerlander and colleagues revealed the lack of a pure memory factor in C3 Logix, which may limit its utility in measuring the effects of SRC. Find more information at DOI: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cbbbpapers/47/

Symptom Reporting by Gender and Age

Testing

Study shows that females show greater emotional endorsement across the age span but seems greater during adolescence. Read this new article examining gender differences in symptom reporting at baseline across the lifespan by Rosemarie Moser, Lauren Olek, and Phil Schatz. https://academic.oup.com/acn/article/34/1/50/4840582

NFL players are Not all impaired

Testing

New finding on retired professional NFL players shows no linear association between concussion and cognitive impairment. Read this recent article by Lindy Fields, Nyaz Didehbani, John Hart, and Munro Cullum. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nyaz_Didehbani/publication/331607981_No_Linear_Association_Between_Number_of_Concussions_or_Years_Played_and_Cognitive_Outcomes_in_Retired_NFL_Players/links/5c895f60a6fdcc3817526125/No-Linear-Association-Between-Number-of-Concussions-or-Years-Played-and-Cognitive-Outcomes-in-Retired-NFL-Players.pdf

CTE reporting: Do no harm

Neuropsychology

In the spirit of do no harm, The Lancet publishes a call for balance when reporting on CTE.  The correspondence by a lengthy list of respected clinicians and researchers emphasizes the importance of balanced reporting and notes that misinformation about CTE can cause real harm to patients.  Read the statement here.

Supervised test administration in sports

Testing

Consistent with the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, SNS issues a Position Statement on Supervised Administration of Neuropsychological Tests in Sports.  Supervised test administration by qualified individuals greatly increases the likelihood of accurate and reliable test results, which is essential to support clinical decisions to return an athlete to play. http://www.sportsneuropsychologysociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/SNS-Statement-on-Supervised-Test-Administration-2019-FINAL.pdf