PITTSBURGH – The unpredictable nature of concussions is one of the most frustrating factors to the millions of sufferers each year, but early neurological indicators and symptoms can predict a protracted healing time in certain cases, according to specialists at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “It’s a highly variable injury with a variety of outcomes,” said Michael “Micky” Collins, Ph.D., director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program and co-investigator of the Pitt/UPMC study published in the February issue of Neurosurgery. “We see some patients who take a day or two to recover, and some who take a year or longer to recover. If clinicians had a way of determining within two days of injury who’s going to take a month or longer to recover, that’s a very important piece of information to have. It’s a game-changer.” The study, one of the first to examine concussion prognoses, showed that specific neurocognitive “cut-off” scores derived from ImPACT™ (Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) improved clinicians’ ability to predict which sports-related concussions could take longer –- as much as five times longer -- to rehabilitate than others. They found, in as many as 85 percent of the cases, the scores could warn athletes, parents, coaches, schools, teams and health professionals when a concussion is likely to take on average a month to heal. Such an objective prognosis could help clinicians to better prepare a treatment plan, arrange academic accommodations for students and set tangible expectations for return to play and school, Dr. Collins said. The study reviewed 108 high-school football players who were given ImPACT tests within a median of two days after their concussions. Fifty boys experienced a recovery lasting, on average, 33 days before returning to play, and those longer rehabilitations could be forecast by specific “cut-off” scores in ImPACT Visual and Processing Speed testing. Migraine and cognitive symptoms also appeared to have predictive power. Study participants who scored above the threshold levels recovered within a median of seven days. “We’ve established statistical ‘cut-offs’ that indicate people who take a month or longer to recover,” Dr. Collins said. “Eighty percent of concussed people recover inside of three weeks. This prognostic information allows us to develop a risk profile of athletes who don’t recover well from this injury. Other study authors include Brian Lau, B.S., from the Pitt School of Medicine, and Mark Lovell, Ph.D., the Concussion Program’s founding director who retired from UPMC last summer. About UPMC Sports Medicine Cohttps://n Program The first-of-its-kind UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program, established in 2000, is the largest multi-disciplinary clinical and research program that focuses on the diagnosis, evaluation and management of sports-related concussion in athletes of all levels. The UPMC clinicians and researchers treat more than 13,000 patients a year, and published more than 75 clinical research studies in peer-reviewed scientific journals. About ImPACT ImPACT™ (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is an independently validated and researched concussion-evaluation system that has become the most widely used in the United States. Co-founded in the early 1990s by Drs. Mark Lovell, Joseph Maroon and Michael “Micky” Collins, who have a proprietary interest in ImPACT Applications, Inc., ImPACT is a 20-minute test that is a standard tool used as part of comprehensive clinical concussion management adopted across the NFL, NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball, college and high-school athletics -- with roughly 3 million people tested. Source: UPMC press release- https://www.upmc.com/mediarelations Photo courtesy UPMC

CHICAGO, May 24, 2012 -- Riddell Sports and USA Football today announced a renewed commitment to educating athletes and parents about concussion awareness. Starting today every new Riddell football helmet shipped to retailers and customers will include a hangtag offering concussion education that includes information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Heads Up program. Riddell's concussion education hangtag is the first of its kind among sports helmet manufacturers. "We have a longstanding commitment to player protection and continue to look for new ways to educate athletes and parents. As the leading manufacturer of football helmets, Riddell has raised concussion awareness through on-helmet labels and informational hangtags for over a decade," said Dan Arment, President of Riddell. "The new hangtag contains valuable information from the CDC and is the latest example of how Riddell will address concussion awareness with athletes and parents." Approximately three million American children age 6-14 play organized tackle football, placing it among the country's most popular youth sports. Since May 2009, 35 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to strengthen concussion education across youth and high school sports. Riddell's new hangtag will be attached to each helmet through an ear hole. The tag is titled "Raise Your Concussion Awareness" and lists concussion signs and symptoms, including CDC guidelines on what to do if a concussion is suspected. "Riddell shares USA Football's commitment to player safety and concussion awareness," USA Football Executive Director Scott Hallenbeck said. "Every parent who has a child playing youth football should ask their league two questions: 'How are your coaches trained to teach my child?' and 'Are your coaches educated on the symptoms and management of concussion?' Helmet hangtags will make certain that Riddell customers have a baseline of knowledge in this area and are directed on where they can learn more online." Riddell is the official football helmet and protective equipment partner of USA Football, the sport's national governing body in the United States. USA Football has partnered with the CDC to advance concussion education since 2007, particularly in high school and youth football. About USA Football: USA Football, the sport's national governing body in the United States, hosts more than 100 football training events annually offering education for coaches, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL, its players and each of the league's 32 teams. Indianapolis-based USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competition and provides $1 million annually in equipment grants and subsidizes youth league volunteer background checks. Endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson. About Riddell: Founded in 1929, Riddell is a premier designer and developer of protective sports equipment and a recognized leader in helmet technology and innovation. One of Easton-Bell Sports, Inc.'s most well-known brands and the Official Helmet of the NFL®, Riddell is the leading manufacturer of football helmets, shoulder pads and reconditioning services (cleaning, repairing, repainting and recertifying existing equipment). SOURCE: Riddell Questions/comments? Contact Jean Rickerson at jean@SportsConcussions.org

New Findings Provide Important Data for Refining Diagnosis Postmortem analysis of the brains of ten professional athletes with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) provides new insights into the specific types of brain abnormalities associated with this diagnosis, reports a study in the July 2011 issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The findings may help to refine the cellular criteria for making the postmortem diagnosis of CTE, provide initial clues as to some possible subytpes, and improve identification of cases. The study was led by Drs. Bennet I. Omalu and Julian Bailes of the Brain Injury Research Institute at West Virginia University.Detailed Information on Brain Abnormalities in CTE The researchers performed a detailed evaluation of autopsy brain specimens from 14 professional athletes and three high school football players who died unexpectedly. The goal was to take an in-depth looks at the cellular-level abnormalities associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)—a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head trauma, seen especially in high-level competitive athletes. Patients with CTE develop mood disorders, cognitive dysfunction, and other psychiatric symptoms, typically occurring years after a history of repeated concussions. Drs. Omalu and Bailes have played a pivotal role in CTE research, having reported on the first three cases of CTE in American football players. Of the 14 professional athletes in the study, ten had autopsy brain findings consistent with a diagnosis of CTE. The CTE cases were seven football players, two wrestlers, and one boxer. Most died from non-natural causes—mainly suicide or trauma. The authors present a detailed analysis of the neuropathological findings in their cases of CTE. The main feature was "neurofibrillary tangles" (NFTs) and "neuritic threads" (NTs) scattered in different areas of the brain. The brains also show evidence of localized areas of brain trauma occurring amny years previously. Findings Suggest Possible 'Emerging' Subtypes None of the athletes with CTE had the characteristic brain atrophy (shrinkage) of Alzheimer's disease. None of the brains showed the widespread amyloid deposits typical of Alzheimer's disease, but some had scattered to frequent amyloid deposits. Although there are not yet enough cases to develop a true classification system, the authors identify some possible "emerging phenotypes" of CTE, based on the number and location of NFTs and NTs and amyloid deposits. The researchers also examined the brains of three high school football players who died of trauma sustained during competition. None of these young athletes met criteria for a diagnosis of CTE. However, one brain showed early, "incipient" abnormalities similar to those of CTE brains, likely related to repeated brain injury. Since the first reported case in 2002, there has been growing concern about CTE and other consequences of repeated head trauma and concussions in football players and other athletes. The findings have led to renewed discussion of the consequences of head trauma—not only in athletes, but also in other high-risk groups such as combat veterans. The Brain Injury Research Institute was created to study the short and long-term impact of brain injury and concussions and the development of CTE. Drs. Omalu and Bailes and colleagues hope their findings will contribute to further research into the neurological and psychosocial impact of CTE. In addition to proposing some possible subtypes of CTE, they suggest a set of pathological tests to be performed in diagnostic investigation of possible CTE. They believe that "CTE diagnosis and surveillance should become intrinsic components of routine patient care work-ups and routine hospital/medical examiner autopsies in high risk cohorts like athletes." Source: Study Takes a Closer Look at Brain Abnormalities in Athletes with CTE -- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins -- Newswise July 12, 2011 Questions/comments? Contact Jean Rickerson at Jean@SportsConcussions.org

The apparent self-inflicted death of legendary NFL linebacker Junior Seau has sent a shock wave throughout the world of sports. Seau played professional football for nineteen years for the Chargers, Dolphins and Patriots and was a 12 time Pro Bowl selection. His flamboyant playing style and jolting hits electrified fans for years. He was 43 years old. This is a time for grief and remembrance. Seau was an integral part of the San Diego community and dedicated time and effort to his charitable foundation. His family needs prayers and support. Normally, speculation as to causation would be premature, but these are not normal times. The spectre of head injury and the disastrous lifetime ramifications call for emphatic action. There is a largely undiagnosed health epidemic which has surrounded contact sports at the youth sports, high school, collegiate and professional level and it is a ticking time bomb. For many years a veil of denial has obscured the reality of what the long term impact of multiple concussions portend. I first became concerned in the late 80's and 90's when I represented half the starting quarterbacks in the National Football League. As I went with clients like Troy Aikman and Steve Young to post-concussion visits with neurologists there were too many unanswered questions. How many head injuries is too many? What are the long term ramifications? How long should a player sit out after suffering the hit? Physicians had few concrete answers, the brain was the last frontier of medical research. I finally decided that I could not in good conscience represent players in a sport that we intuitively knew could cause devestating consequences to the mental faculties of athletes, without becoming an active crusader to raise awareness of the danger. I felt like an "enabler" facilitating a "meat grinder" career. In the 90's we held three concussion conferences in Newport Beach with the leading neurologists, helmet manufacturers, and playing surface representatives talking to Steve, Troy, Warren Moon, Drew Bledsoe and many other clients. We issued a white paper calling for a standardized regimen of diagnosis and "return to play protocols." We urged better helmetry and protective devices. We asked for a neurologist to be put on the sideline and that the head and neck be banned from blocking and tackling. Not much changed. The players themselves were in a state of denial concerning physical health. They had been taught from Pop Warner on to ignore pain, hide injury so as to not lose their starting position or jeopardize their status on the team. They didn't want to be known as "training room" players and be stigmatized and isolated from their peers. They were young men and athletes, two categories that viewed long term health as an abstraction. The most critical priority for them was the next play. And retired athletes were stoic and didn't talk about impaired memory or depression to younger players. In some cases, because concussion is not visible like a leg injury, they may not have known. In conjunction with the Los Angeles based Concussion Institute we helped facilitate another series of Concussion Seminars seven years ago. This time there was concrete data presented by researchers like Dr. Julian Bailes, Dr. Robert Cantu, Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz and Dr. Robert Hovda that seemed to indicate that three was the "magic number." Three or more concussions apparently raised exponentially the post-career risk of dementia, Parkinson's and depression. Presentations were made about the existence of a genotype-an allele of which produced heightened risk of concussion and severe post-concussion consequences. A pattern developed in which the repetitive head injuries produced chronic traumatic encephalopathy, permanent brain damage. Player's like the Bears' Dave Duerson developed depression. Often loss of job and family would occur. And in some cases, suicide. To their credit, Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL responded by convening a physician's conference. They issued a whistleblower edict which urged players to report other impaired players. And they adopted baseline testing, developed by Dr. Mark Lovell. A cognivitive test is given prior to a season and in the case of concussion is followed by a second test. This is an objective way to measure the degree of damage and insure that players are asymptomatic at rest, on an excercise bike, and at practice before they are cleared to play. This is something that every parent should insist on for their "collision sport" children. Pro football may be most visible, but the risk is present in many other sports and at the collegiate, high school and youth levels. The adolescent brain may take three times as long to recover and it is still in formation. The physics of collision have changed -- bigger,stronger, faster athletes colliding with a stationary object. And so the problem will accelerate and not diminish. The simple act of offensive and defensive lineman colliding thousands of times produces low level concussive events. What will the cumulative effect of the injury mean for athletes in their forties and fifties? I knew Junior Seau since the day he and his massive Samoan friends partied back stage as he was drafted in New York City. He was only 43. I represented him for a time. I love sports, but love the individuals who play them more. As Peter, Paul and Mary sang, "How many deaths will it take 'till we know that too many people have died?" We need to find the answers, they can't just be "blowing in the wind." Leigh Steinberg was a sports agent for almost forty years. He represented many of the nation's most recognizable athletes including Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Drew Bledsoe, and Warren Moon. Leigh negotiated over $2 billion in contracts during his career. He was also the inspiration for the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire starring Tom Cruise. He is now CEO of Steinberg Sports and Entertainment located in Los Angeles, California. Leigh is a member of the SportsConcussions.org Advisory Board. Photo, above: (c) 2009 Dave Sizer@creativecommons.com Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at Jean@SportsConcussions.org

Coy Wire was a team captain for the Buffalo Bills (2002-2007) and the Atlanta Falcons (2008-2011) during his nine years in the NFL. An All-American Honors athlete at Stanford University, Coy was the first player to lead the Cardinal in both rushing and tackles. He was a recipient of the NFL’s Ed Block Courage Award. Q: What would you tell athletes about concussions? The NFL is in a state of evolution and recent changes will only make it safer for younger athletes. The league and the NFLPA (National Football League Players’ Association) have made huge strides to address the concussion issue, while maintaining the excitement of the game for both fans and players. It’s important that all athletes remember that you only get one brain and as we learn more about the long-term and adverse effects of contact sports and repetitive head injury, we know that smaller hits over the course of a career- even a high school career- can accumulate. Learn to recognize the symptoms of head trauma. You can have headaches or you might be slightly dizzy …these are all bearable and many athletes mask these symptoms by taking a Tylenol and then they go out and play again. But a concussion is not an ankle or shoulder injury…later in life you can have surgery on that ankle or have knee replacement surgery but you only get one brain. You can’t get a brain replacement. If you mask head trauma you can be risking increased problems in the future for Alzheimer’s or dementia. Head trauma has to be looked at very differently. Yes, in a way it’s a body part like a shoulder, but your brain must be treated very differently. You can ice and elevate an ankle but can’t do that with your brain. Real damage may show up later in life …and it’s not just football, it can happen in any sport. We used to look at toughness and playing through injuries as a badge of honor. That you were tough both mentally and physically and that continuing to play while hurt brought you the respect of your peers. But we need to change the culture now, and that starts with you. You need to believe that it’s OK to miss a game or a week or longer. If you do have to sit out, it means you were playing hard and you took one for the team. You shouldn’t feel ashamed. And if you care about your friends and your teammates, keep them from harm.https:// If you see a friend of yours doing something to hurt themselves, like playing with a concussion, step up and help them. You’re doing them a huge injustice by allowing them to continue to play. You are your brother’s keeper. Become a hero in their life and help them realize what they probably know deep down inside anyway. Someday they’ll look back and know what you did for them, and they’ll respect you more, later in their lives. Be a leader and help change the game. Help create a new norm. Coy Wire is the author of Change Your Mind; 10 Unconventional Secrets to Retrain Your Brain; March 2012. He is an inspirational speaker and mind coach. For more information contact him at https://www.coywire.com/

COLUMBUS, Ohio – There is no magic test to determine when an athlete is ready to get back into the game after they have suffered a head injury. Researchers have started using an interactive video game, a tool many athletes are already using in rehabilitation, to test balance for concussion assessment and management. The reliability of the video game for assessing athletes’ concussions has not been confirmed, but a study by a sports medicine researcher from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center may provide insight to the use of the Nintendo’s Wii Fit for concussion management. Team athletic trainers often determine whether an athlete has a concussion based on their physical examination, cognitive ability, self-report of symptoms and balance. "Student athletes love it because we have incorporated fun into their rehabilitation and concussion assessment," said Tamerah Hunt, director of research at the OSU’s Sports Medicine Concussion Program. “For many school districts, it is an affordable option and can be portable, making it convenient for sideline testing and travel with the team for away games.” Researchers from Ohio State and the University of Maryland are conducting baseline testing for concussion management in collegiate athletes, and will soon do the same among high-school athletes. Recent concussion guidelines suggest postural control is an important part of the assessment process, which makes balance an important piece of information in determining recovery from a head injury. “It’s not the perfect system, but can be considered as an option to provide basic objective information about balance,” said Hunt, whose previous research includes examining concussion recovery patterns among high school students in several states. “It’s another tool to have in our toolkit because determining when an athlete has recovered can be subjective,” Hunt admits. “Athletes are more likely to engage with a video game than to take another boring concussion test or admit they are still hurt,” said Hunt. “We currently base much of our assessment on an athlete telling us about their symptoms. The video game allows us to broadly analyze center of gravity, to help us be more objective.” Athletes participate in three different yoga poses as demonstrated on the Wii Fit game and are given a score which determines how well the athlete maintained center of balance. Baseline testing provides athletic trainers with an idea of how an athlete normally functions. If an athlete suffers a head injury at a later date, the athletic trainer can assess the balance of the athlete compared to their normal ability. According to Hunt, an athletic trainer must obtain the baseline measures to compare the athlete to themselves because everyone performs differently. Preliminary data suggests a moderate correlation to current methods used in concussion assessment, ranging from 0.75-0.82, depending on the stance. “Additional studies need to be performed to determine the long-term reliability of the measures and other factors associated with test scores, such as fatigue,” said Hunt. This is just the beginning of studies using alternative measures of balance assessment like the Wii Fit for concussion management. The National Collegiate Athletic Association concussion guidelines support using the video game as a postural assessment tool. It is not yet approved as a medical device by the Food and Drug Administration. Source: Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center -- May 2012 Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at jean@SportsConcussions.org

Shepherdstown, W.V. — Senator Jay Rockefeller convened a roundtable discussion at Shepherd University's Wellness Center on Friday with medical experts, sports professionals, coaches, and parents to help raise awareness of many of the causes and impacts of concussions and head injuries in young athletes. He also highlighted problems with the marketing of some sports safety equipment which claim to prevent concussions among athletes. “We all have a responsibility to make sure that kids who play sports are as safe as they can be,” said Rockefeller. “Much of the conversation about concussions has focused on professional athletes, but it affects so many children on the field, court, mat, or track. Last October, I chaired a Senate hearing to help raise awareness about concussions in youth sports, but our job is not done. We need to make sure that everyone in West Virginia knows how to reduce the number of concussions, since they can have long-term consequences for our children’s health. “Playing sports doesn’t just make kids stronger and healthier. It also teaches them important values – hard work, leadership, and the importance of working together. I encourage everyone here today to tell their friends and family about how to better protect student athletes so that we can reduce injuries, increase awareness about some false marketing of sports equipment, and make sure our kids stay healthy.” The roundtable provided an opportunity to discuss the dangers of concussions for young athletes, the steps that parents and coaches should take to protect young athletes from concussions, and the limitations of sports equipment in preventing concussions. The discussion included medical experts from West Virginia to discuss the dangers and frequency of concussions for young athletes, sports officials from the state to explain the steps currently being taken to protect young athletes from concussions on the field, and representatives from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to discuss the role of the federal government in creating safety standards for products and investigating marketing claims made by manufacturers. On October 19, Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, held a hearing on concussions and the marketing of sports equipment to increase awareness of both the dangers of concussions for athletes participating in sports at all levels and the misleading marketing claims about concussions made by sports equipment manufacturers. Rockefeller convened the hearing because much of the discussion on concussions had largely focused on the dangers of concussions at the professional level, even though a significant percentage of those suffering concussions are children and high school students participating in sports, especially contact sports like soccer, football, and hockey. Click here to view video of the hearing Source: Senator Jay Rockefeller Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at Jean@SportsConcussions.org

The brain appears to be wired more like the checkerboard streets of New York City than the curvy lanes of Columbia, Md., suggests a new brain imaging study. The most detailed images, to date, reveal a pervasive 3D grid structure with no diagonals, say scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health. “Far from being just a tangle of wires, the brain’s connections turn out to be more like ribbon cables -- folding 2D sheets of parallel neuronal fibers that cross paths at right angles, like the warp and weft of a fabric,” explained Van Wedeen, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and the Harvard Medical School. “This grid structure is continuous and consistent at all scales and across humans and other primate species." Wedeen and colleagues report new evidence of the brain’s elegant simplicity March 30, 2012 in the journal Science. The study was funded, in part, by the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Human Connectome Project of the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, and other NIH components. “Getting a high resolution wiring diagram of our brains is a landmark in human neuroanatomy,” said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, M.D. “This new technology may reveal individual differences in brain connections that could aid diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders.” Knowledge gained from the study helped shape design specifications for the most powerful brain scanner of its kind, which was installed at MGH’s Martinos Center last fall. The new Connectom diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner can visualize the networks of crisscrossing fibers – by which different parts of the brain communicate with each other – in 10-fold higher detail than conventional scanners, said Wedeen. “This one-of-a-kind instrument is bringing into sharper focus an astonishingly simple architecture that makes sense in light of how the brain grows,” he explained. “The wiring of the mature brain appears to mirror three primal pathways established in embryonic development.” As the brain gets wired up in early development, its connections form along perpendicular pathways, running horizontally, vertically and transversely. This grid structure appears to guide connectivity like lane markers on a highway, which would limit options for growing nerve fibers to change direction during development. If they can turn in just four directions: left, right, up or down, this may enforce a more efficient, orderly way for the fibers to find their proper connections – and for the structure to adapt through evolution, suggest the researchers. Obtaining detailed images of these pathways in human brain has long eluded researchers, in part, because the human cortex, or outer mantle, develops many folds, nooks and crannies that obscure the structure of its connections. Although studies using chemical tracers in neural tracts of animal brains yielded hints of a grid structure, such invasive techniques could not be used in humans. Wedeen’s team is part of a Human Connectome Project Harvard/MGH-UCLA consortiumExternal Link: Please review our disclaimer. that is optimizing MRI technology to more accurately to image the pathways. In diffusion imaging, the scanner detects movement of water inside the fibers to reveal their locations. A high resolution technique called diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) makes it possible to see the different orientations of multiple fibers that cross at a single location – the key to seeing the grid structure. In the current study, researchers performed DSI scans on postmortem brains of four types of monkeys – rhesus, owl, marmoset and galago – and in living humans. They saw the same 2D sheet structure containing parallel fibers crossing paths everywhere in all of the brains – even in local path neighborhoods. The grid structure of cortex pathways was continuous with those of lower brain structures, including memory and emotion centers. The more complex human and rhesus brains showed more differentiation between pathways than simpler species. Among immediate implications, the findings suggest a simplifying framework for understanding the brain’s structure, pathways and connectivity. The technology used in the current study was able to see only about 25 percent of the grid structure in human brain. It was only apparent in large central circuitry, not in outlying areas where the folding obscures it. But lessons learned were incorporated into the design of the newly installed Connectom scanner, which can see 75 percent of it, according to Wedeen. Much as a telescope with a larger mirror or lens provides a clearer image, the new scanner markedly boosts resolving power by magnifying magnetic fields with magnetically stronger copper coils, called gradients. Gradients make it possible to vary the magnetic field and get a precise fix on locations in the brain. The Connectom scanner’s gradients are seven times stronger than those of conventional scanners. Scans that would have previously taken hours – and, thus would have been impractical with living human subjects – can now be performed in minutes. “Before, we had just driving directions. Now, we have a map showing how all the highways and byways are interconnected,” said Wedeen. “Brain wiring is not like the wiring in your basement, where it just needs to connect the right endpoints. Rather, the grid is the language of the brain and wiring and re-wiring work by modifying it.” Curvature in this DSI image of a whole human brain turns out to be folding of 2D sheets of parallel neuronal fibers that cross paths at right angles. This picture came from the new Connectom scanner.Source: Van Wedeen, M.D., Martinos Center and Dept. of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University Medical School Reference Wedeen VJ, Rosene DL, Ruopeng W, Guangping D, Mortazavi F, Hagmann P, Kass JH, Tseng W-YI. The Geometric Structure of the Brain Fiber Pathways: A Continuous Orthogonal Grid. March 30, 2012 Science. ### The mission of the NIMH is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery and cure. For more information, visit the NIMH website. The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is a cooperative effort among the NIH Office of the Director and the 15 NIH Institutes and Centers that support research on the nervous system. By pooling resources and expertise, the Blueprint supports transformative neuroscience research, and the development of new tools, training opportunities, and other resources to assist neuroscientists. About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit the NIH website. Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at jean@SportsConcussions.org

MINNEAPOLIS – A new study suggests that head impacts experienced during contact sports such as football and hockey may worsen some college athletes’ ability to acquire new information. The research is published in the May 16, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study involved college athletes at three Division I schools and compared 214 athletes in contact sports to 45 athletes in non-contact sports such as track, crew and Nordic skiing at the beginning and at the end of their seasons. The contact sport athletes wore special helmets that recorded the acceleration speed and other data at the time of any head impact. The contact sport athletes experienced an average of 469 head impacts during the season. Athletes were not included in the study if they were diagnosed with a concussion during the season. All of the athletes took tests of thinking and memory skills before and after the season. A total of 45 contact sport athletes and 55 non-contact sport athletes from one of the schools also took an additional set of tests of concentration, working memory and other skills. “The good news is that overall there were few differences in the test results between the athletes in contact sports and the athletes in non-contact sports,” said study author Thomas W. McAllister, MD, of The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in Lebanon, N.H. “But we did find that a higher percentage of the contact sport athletes had lower scores than would have been predicted after the season on a measure of new learning than the non-contact sport athletes.” A total of 22 percent of the contact sport athletes performed worse than expected on the test of new learning, compared to four percent of the non-contact sport athletes. McAllister noted that the study did not find differences in test results between the two groups of athletes at the beginning of the season, suggesting that the cumulative head impacts that contact athletes had incurred over many previous seasons did not result in reduced thinking and memory skills in the overall group. “These results are somewhat reassuring, given the recent heightened concern about the potential negative effects of these sports,” he said. “Nevertheless, the findings do suggest that repetitive head impacts may have a negative effect on some athletes.” McAllister said it’s possible that some people may be genetically more sensitive to head impacts. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment. Source: American Academy of Neurology -- May 16, 2012 Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at Jean@SportsConcussions.org Photo courtesy of JamieLWilliams (c)2006 CreativeCommons.com