Concussions Tied to Verbal Memory Loss in Young Athletes
FRIDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) — College athletes who suffer a
concussion may experience poor verbal memory, researchers have found.
A concussion is a head injury that can cause headache, dizziness,
irritability, mood changes, vomiting, changes in vision and hearing, as
well as difficulty following instructions.
“This study corroborates the effect of concussion on brain functioning
in student-athletes,” study author Robert Gardner, a student at Elon
University in North Carolina, said in a news release.
In examining 100 female and male college athletes who played football
and soccer, the study authors found multiple signs of decreased brain
function, or cognitive processing, among those who had sustained a
concussion. Specifically, verbal memory was worse in those who suffered
the head injury than those who did not.
More than 20 states have already passed legislation to ensure the
safety of young athletes, and educate players, parents and coaches about
the dangers of concussions. The researchers concluded, however, that even
more research is needed to determine the full extent of a concussion’s
effects on cognition, particularly in the developing brains of children
and teens.
The findings were scheduled for presentation this week at the annual
meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, held in conjunction
with the World Congress on Exercise Is Medicine, in Denver. Experts note
that research presented at meetings isn’t subjected to the same type of
scrutiny given to research published in peer-reviewed journals.
More information
The National Collegiate Athletic Association offers more information on
concussion in sports.