Heading A Soccer Ball Could Impact Cognitive Performance
Editor's ChoiceAcademic Journal
Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 28 Feb 2013 - 0:00 PST
Heading A Soccer Ball Could Impact Cognitive Performance
| Patient / Public: | ||
| Healthcare Prof: | 5 (1 votes) |
Sports-induced head injuries are a rising concern, while new studies suggest that even less powerful actions - like heading a soccer ball - could cause changes in performance on specific cognitive tasks.
This new finding was published in the journal PLoS ONE, and outlines a tablet-based experiment that showed sub-concussive head impacts in soccer affect athletes' performance on cognitive tasks.
Led by Anne Sereno, a team of researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston examined the effects of non-injurious head-to-ball contacts on cognitive function by using an iPad app.
The study included 24 female participants, 12 soccer players and 12 non-soccer players. The median age of the volunteers was 16.5 years.
All participants had normal or corrected to normal vision and none had documented any earlier head injury or neurological conditions.
The investigators found that high school girl soccer players were much slower than non-soccer players on a task that forced them to point away from a target on the screen, however during the task of pointing to the on-screen visual target, no difference was seen.
Cognitive tasks that consist of point away from a target require certain voluntary responses, while going toward a target is a reflexive response.
Even heading a soccer ball may have an effect on cognitive performance
The authors concluded that sub-concussive hits to the head can cause changes directly associated to specific cognitive functions.
Sub-concussive hits in soccer can result in cognitive function changes that are the same as mild traumatic brain injury of the frontal lobes. Concussion can have effects that persist for several years, even decades
The application used in this study may be an effective and quick method to detect and follow cognitive changes in athletes.
The authors point out that a tablet-based application for fast screenings could also have a wider base of application within the clinic or the field.
Although the findings were very interesting, it does not imply sustained changes or brain injury.
More research is required to track soccer players for longer periods to examine whether these changes are temporary or forever, whether they are reliant on repeated sub-concussive blows, and whether they have the same implications for male soccer players.
The authors concluded:
"To our knowledge, these results provide the first evidence that even sub-concussive blows in soccer could lead to measureable, even if possibly transient, cognitive changes in young soccer players."
Sports-related head trauma has been in the news frequently as of late. Several National Football League players are suing the organization saying the league should have acted sooner to deal with serious head injuries. The severity and long-lasting effects of head trauma are now being seen in a new, more detailed light.
Written by Kelly Fitzgerald
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Marsha R. Zhang, Stuart D. Red, Angela H. Lin, Saumil S. Patel, Anne B. Sereno
PLoS ONE, February 2013, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057364
MLA
13 Jun. 2013. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/256972.php>
APA
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/256972.php.
Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.
Add Your Opinion On This Article
'Heading A Soccer Ball Could Impact Cognitive Performance'Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.
If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.
All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)
Contact Our News Editors
For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.
Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:
Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.
Privacy Policy |
Terms and Conditions
MediLexicon International Ltd
Bexhill-on-Sea, United Kingdom
MediLexicon International Ltd © 2004-2013 All rights reserved.
MNT (logo) is the registered trade mark of MediLexicon International Ltd.
Bexhill-on-Sea, United Kingdom
MediLexicon International Ltd © 2004-2013 All rights reserved.
MNT (logo) is the registered trade mark of MediLexicon Int. Limited.