For Immediate Release
Long-term Structural Changes Found in Brains of Concussed Female Athletes
Contact: Kathryn Ryan
914-740-2250
kryan@liebertpub.com
New Rochelle, NY, August 9, 2016—Female athletes who have suffered at least one concussion showed structural differences in the corpus callosum, the structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain, compared to unconcussed female athletes and other women. The brain images captured 6 months post-concussion suggest long-term changes in the corpus callosum, mainly in the region where it projects to the prefrontal and premotor areas of the brain, as described in an article in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Neurotrauma website until September 9, 2016.
In the article “Long-Term Abnormalities in the Corpus Callosum of Female Concussed Athletes,” coauthors Emilie Chamard, Genevieve Lefebvre, Maryse Lassonde, and Hugo Theoret, University of Montreal and CHU-Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Canada, used diffusion tensor imaging to examine of the corticopsinal tract and corpus callosum of the study participants. They found no significant differences between the groups of women in the corticospinal tract, but reported evidence of microstructural changes and a lower volume of white matter fibers in the corpus callosum.
“This study is of importance from several perspectives. It reinforces the need to analyze gender-specific responses following TBI, while emphasizing that concussive injury in female athletes elicits regionally specific changes in the corpus callosum, which include prefrontal connections, a finding not routinely discussed in the literature,” says John T. Povlishock, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Neurotrauma and Professor, Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.
About the Journal
Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Emphasis is on the basic pathobiology of injury to the nervous system, and the papers and reviews evaluate preclinical and clinical trials targeted at improving the early management and long-term care and recovery of patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma is the official journal of the National Neurotrauma Society and the International Neurotrauma Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Neurotrauma website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, Brain Connectivity, and Tissue Engineering. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.