Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/11375/22651
Title: | Assessing Functional and Structural Connectivity in Former Professional Athletes |
Authors: | Doughty, Mitchell |
Advisor: | Noseworthy, Michael |
Department: | Biomedical Engineering |
Keywords: | Concussion;Magnetic Resonance Imaging;Football;Diffusion Tensor Imaging;Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging;White Matter;Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy;Mild Traumatic Brain Injury |
Publication Date: | 13-Sep-2017 |
Abstract: | Recently there has been considerable attention directed towards the increased risk for head injuries that athletes face while participating in high impact sports. Furthermore, there is also heightened interest in the asymptomatic sport related sub-concussive blows, commonly experienced during play, that possibly lead to long term neurological deficits. Purpose: The goal of this study was to investigate retired professional athletes of the Canadian Football League with a history of sport-related concussions, using several advanced MRI methods. The ultimate goal being the identification of any potential synergistic effects between a history of sport-related concussions, and exacerbated cognitive decline later on in life. Materials and Methods: Twenty former professional athletes of the Canadian Football League were scanned using a GE Discovery MR750 3T MRI with a 32-channel RF-coil. Axial FSPGR-3D images were used to define rs-BOLD and DTI scans. Seed based network analysis of the DMN was performed on rs-BOLD data. Voxel-wise tensor fitting of DTI data provided the means for estimating several tensor metrics. Results were normalized through comparison with a database of healthy controls. Potential associations between functional connectivity, white matter integrity, and cortical thickness measures were correlated with retired athlete position and years of professional play. Results: We found widespread cortical thinning in retired CFL subjects, alongside significant increases in axial and mean diffusivity in the corona radiata and splenium and genu of the corpus callosum compared to controls. Seed based correlation analysis of the DMN network revealed interrupted connectivity in retired athletes. Athlete age, po- sition, and number of years played appear to be factors in overall core white matter microstructural integrity. Conclusions: When compared to an age and sex matched control population, differences were observed both in functional and structural con- nectivity, suggesting that even years after retiring the brains of these former athletes still exhibit signs of damage. |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11375/22651 |
Appears in Collections: | Open Access Dissertations and Theses |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Doughty_Mitchell_WG_2017September_MASc.pdf | 6.42 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Items in MacSphere are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.