Scientists: Fatigue Causes False Positives in Concussion Testing

January 2011, Florida— According to a recent study published in the journal Clinical Neuropsychology, athletes being tested for brain injury may experience mental fatigue even if they don’t actually have a brain injury. Unfortunately, this may lead to unneeded brain injury rehabilitation and take up limited resources that could be better spent on patients with true concussions.

            The current battery of neuropsychological tests typically used to test for concussions take an hour and a half to two hours—which is enough to make anyone tired. Testing for a long period of time can create fatigue, which is a symptom of brain injury, but also a symptom of having taken too many neuropsychological tests. The study hopes to overcome this problem by creating a baseline of how mentally fatigued the battery of tests made an uninjured athlete, in the hopes that this would prevent unnecessary brain injury rehabilitation without preventing actually injured athletes from getting the brain injury rehabilitation they need. The scientists hope this study will lead to testing every athlete, particularly in high-contact high-injury sports like rugby and football, to create a personal baseline for comparison later in the season.

            Nearly four million concussions occur in the United States each year, according to the Center for Disease Control. Concussed athletes who return to the field too quickly are four to six times more likely to get injured in the same season. The brain injury rehabilitation that most people with concussions need is minor and usually outpatient. However, if a concussion is not properly treated, it can lead to student athletes requiring pediatric brain rehabilitation Repeated brain injuries can cause serious mental disabilities, such as dementia pugilistica, a form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy typically suffered by boxers that leads to memory problems, declining mental ability, and lack of coordination.

The Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation is a Florida rehabilitation center that offers clinically sound, high-quality, cost-effective support for those living with brain injuries. All programs are staffed by professionals --  often multilingual and always trained in relevant therapeutic disciplines -- who work in cohesive teams. They also offer family support services.

The Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation

800-697-5390

www.finr.net