Abstract #0302

Acute impact of soccer ball heading on brain tissue electrical conductivity

Jun Cao¹, Nathan Delang^2,3,4,5, Luke Henderson⁵, Rebecca Robertson⁵, Fernando Tinoco Mendoza⁵, Ben Desbrow², Christopher Irwin^2,6, Elizabeth Cairns^4,7, Paul Austin⁵, Shane Ball⁴, Michael Buckland⁴, Iain McGregor^4,7, Danielle McCartney^1,4,7, and Caroline Rae^1,8

¹Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia, ²School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia, ³Queensland Academy of Sport, Queensland, Australia, ⁴School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, ⁵School of Medical Sciences (Neuroscience), Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, ⁶Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia, ⁷Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, ⁸School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Synopsis

Keywords: Traumatic Brain Injury, Brain

Motivation: The effects of sub-concussive head impacts are not well understood. New biomarkers are needed to detect sub-concussion.

Goal(s): Our goal was to investigate the acute effects of sub-concussive impacts using MREPT.

Approach: Fourteen soccer players were scanned with MREPT in two separate sessions after performing the task of either heading or kicking soccer balls for 20 minutes.

Results: Electrical conductivity measured in multiple brain regions such as inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus after the heading session was significantly less than that measured following kicking, indicating that MREPT could be a useful tool for detecting sub-concussive injury.

Impact: The finding that heading soccer balls for a short period can cause significant acute decreases in brain electrical conductivity suggests that this activity may have detrimental short term effects on brain function.

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