In this video, Maddy Doucette interviews Dr. Jonathan Hakun regarding his upcoming talk at the SNS Symposium in May titled, “Ambulatory Assessment in Concussion Clinical Care”. Dr. Hakun is the director of the Cognitive and Mobile Phenotyping Neurolaboratory at Penn State University College of Medicine. His research is focused on the cognitive neuroscience of aging,…
Is prolonged rest harmful when recovering from a concussion? A recent study looked at children, ages 5-18, who returned to school 0-2 days after a mild traumatic brain injury (i.e., concussion). The findings? Early return to school was associated with lower concussion symptom burden after 14 days. These results suggest that a prolonged absence from…
Are there differences in how collegiate athletes recover from concussions from sports versus non-sport mechanisms of injury (MOI)? Non-sport MOI is responsible for 20% of concussions sustained by collegiate athletes, but how an athlete experiences and recovers from non-sport concussions has not received much scientific study. Research out of emergency departments has suggested that non-sport…
Researchers questioned 1630 students at 7, 14, and 28 days post-concussion, asking when they returned to school after their injury, as well as to rate their current symptoms. Children who returned to school earlier (less than 3 days post-injury) had less symptoms at two weeks post-injury. This was true even in children who had higher…
The Sports Neuropsychology Society is proud to promote awareness of and education about sports concussions for National Concussion Awareness Day (September 15, 2023). In the below video, President of the Sports Neuropsychology Society, Rosemarie Scolaro Moser, PhD, ABN, ABPP-RP explains what is a sports concussion, the signs and symptoms of a sports concussion and what…
Researchers examined the records of 2248 college student athletes who had a concussion and examined whether a history of mental health problems and higher symptoms of anxiety/mood disruption before the concussion (at baseline) were more likely to have increased symptoms of anxiety or mood disturbance after concussion, as well as a longer recovery. About 41%…
Chris Vaughan, PsyD, SNS Fellow and current treasurer, collaborated with other SNS members, MaeganSady, PhD and Gerry Gioia, PhD to recently publish the article titled Association Between Early Return toSchool Following Acute Concussion and Symptom Burden at 2 Weeks Postinjury in JAMA Open in Januaryof 2023. In this cohort study, data from over 1600 youth…
Can an algorithm identify collegiate athletes who are Recovered or Not Recovered postconcussion, without relying on baseline neuropsychological testing? Researchers evaluate an evidence-based algorithms and discussion of cost savings associated with such an approach. Arnett, P., Merritt, V. C., Guty, E., Riegler, K., Greenberg, L., & Thomas, G. (2023). Validity of postconcussion only algorithms in collegiate athletes following…
Is risk of concussion in sports or physical activity associated with risky or adverse health behaviors (e.g., substance use, self-harm, fights, etc.) in middle school and high school students? Student athletes who had engaged in risky or adverse health behaviors were more likely to have sustained a concussion, with middle school students at highest risk. The study identifies middle…
This study looks at the research on how the autonomic nervous system (also know as “fight-or-flight” and “rest-and-digest”) and the stress response change after a person experiences a concussion. The article reviewed several different tools that are in most clinical settings that can be used to measure changes in these systems. Article Citation: Farrell, G.,…