The teenage brain is special. Less plastic than a child's developing brain, but not yet with all of the executive functions of an adult noggin. And that makes them more vulnerable to long-term effects of head injury, according to new research. Especially when it comes to sports-related concussions.
In football, soccer, hockey or rugby, the top-front of the head usually receives the brunt of the blow. And that region is where the all-important executive function areas are forming for teenagers: the frontal cortex.
To learn more, researchers recruited 96 male sports participants ages nine through 26--half of whom had had a diagnosed concussion in the past year. Using a battery of memory, attention, motor tests and EEG monitors, the researchers found that all of the concussed athletes showed reduced working memory.
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But the adolescents had the most cognitive impairment, even if months had passed since their injury, and they reported feeling just fine. The findings are in the journal Brain Injury. [Annie Baillargeon et al., "Neuropsychological and Neurophysiological Assessment of Sport Concussion In Children, Adolescents and Adults"]
So for high school athletes, a rough hit could lead to problems lasting longer than a bad headache.
--Katherine Harmon
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
