Neuroimaging Biomarkers of a History of Concussion Observed in Asymptomatic Young Athletes

Abstract Participation in contact sports places athletes at elevated risk for repeated head injuries and is associated with negative mental health outcomes later in life. The current study identified changes observable on neuroimaging that persisted beyond the apparent resolution of acute symptoms of concussion. Sixteen young adult ice hockey players with a remote history of concussion but no subjective complaints were compared against 13 of their teammates with no history of concussion. Participants completed a detailed phenotypic assessment and a neuroimaging battery including diffusion kurtosis imaging and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Athletes with a history of concussion performed no differently from those without on phenotypic assessment, but showed significantly elevated fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left genu and anterior corona radiata relative to those without. Post hoc analyses revealed that elevated FA was associated with increased microstructural complexity perpendi...