Sport-Related Concussion Recovery in Athletes

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS · Feb 25, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This is a prospective, observational study at the University of Central Arkansas to see if adding a non-invasive brain scan (functional near-infrared spectroscopy, or fNIRS) to standard concussion tests improves the way we diagnose concussion and track recovery for college athletes. About 1,000 participants will be enrolled, including athletes who have recently had a sport-related concussion and matched uninjured controls. Participants will undergo a combination of tests—sideline checks (SCAT), computerized thinking/memory tests (ImPACT), balance tests, vestibular/eye-motor assessments, and a brain scan to measure front-brain activity—at multiple times: within 72 hours of injury, while they’re recovering until they’re asymptomatic, when they are cleared to return to play, and at least six months later.

Eligible participants are adults aged 18 to 26, of any sex. The concussion group will include athletes diagnosed by medical staff, and controls will come from the same teams or other students, with healthy volunteers also eligible for baseline testing. Exclusion criteria include current psychiatric illness, ADHD or learning disabilities, and not being on psychoactive medications. Participants will visit the campus for several testing sessions over months, and the study will also look at how well remote or in-person testing compares in measuring cognitive function. This research is not a drug or device trial; it aims to improve concussion assessment and safer return-to-play decisions, with enrollment currently ongoing and planned completion around 2030.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Participants will be recruited from athletes who have sustained a concussion and/or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), as determined by a physical examination conducted by medical staff based on the established concussion definition: biomechnical forces, typically resulting from a direct blow to the head, face, neck, or elsewhere on the body with an impulsive force transmitted to the head.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Current diagnosis of a psychiatric illness, attention deficit disorder, or learning disability.
• • Current use of psychoactive medications.