The long term effects of concussion on fine motor control

Concussion has been shown to cause immediate impairment in neurocognitive function and motor control. A widely accepted recovery time from concussion is 7-10 days. However, late life health issues and evidence of chronic inflammatory scar tissue buildup in the brain have been linked to repeated head trauma. In recent electrophysiological studies, concussed individuals have shown differences in EEG profile up to 30 years post-injury. Few studies have examined the long term effects of concussion on persistent brain function. PURPOSE: To examine the persisting effects of concussion history on fine motor control. METHODS: Twenty individuals (age 20.4 +/-1.7) with no history of concussion and twenty individuals (age 20 +/-1.6) with at least 1 previous episode of concussion, were recruited from a NCAA Division-I football team. Participants each completed a Purdue pegboard task, finger tapping task and a submaximal isometric force control task. Group differences in test performance were assessed using a t-test and a 3-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Correlation analysis was used to assess relationships between test performance and concussion history. RESULTS: Data analysis showed no significant group differences between concussed and non-concussed individuals (p’s >0.05) on all measures. No significant relationships were seen between test performance and concussion history. CONCLUSION: There was no relation between concussion history and fine motor control performance as evaluated by these tasks. These results contrast the postural control and gait studies which indicated long term changes in concussed individuals. It is unclear why these changes occur, but the presence of sub-concussive blows or greater cortical allocation to fine motor movements are possible explanations. Further study is needed to further understand the long term effects of concussion on fine motor control.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Kinesiology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2010

Author dc:creator

• Chia, Callum

Contributors dc:contributor

• Broglio, Steven P.

• concussion
• long term effects
• fine motor control
• manual dexterity
• football

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2010 Callum Chia

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16876

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/16876