Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Phys Sportsmed. 2010 Oct;38(3):27-37. doi: 10.3810/psm.2010.10.1805.
The high incidence of concussions in contact sports and their impact on brain functions are a major cause for concern. To improve our understanding of brain functioning after sports-related concussion, advanced functional assessment techniques, namely event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have been recently used in research studies. Contrary to neuropsychological tests that measure verbal and/or motor responses, ERPs and fMRI assess the neural activities associated with cognitive/behavioral demands, and thus provide access to better comprehension of brain functioning. In fact, ERPs have excellent temporal resolution, and fMRI identifies the involved structures during a task. This article describes ERP and fMRI techniques and reviews the results obtained with these tools in sports-related concussion. Although these techniques are not yet readily available, they offer a unique clinical approach, particularly for complex cases (ie, athletes with multiple concussions, chronic symptoms) and objective measures that provide valuable information to guide management and return-to-play decision making.
接触性运动中脑震荡的高发率及其对大脑功能的影响令人担忧。为了增进我们对运动相关性脑震荡后大脑功能的理解，最近在研究中使用了先进的功能评估技术，即事件相关电位（ERP）和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）。与测量言语和/或运动反应的神经心理学测试不同，ERP 和 fMRI 评估与认知/行为需求相关的神经活动，从而更好地理解大脑功能。事实上，ERP 具有出色的时间分辨率，而 fMRI 可识别任务期间涉及的结构。本文描述了 ERP 和 fMRI 技术，并回顾了这些工具在运动相关性脑震荡中的应用结果。尽管这些技术尚未广泛应用，但它们提供了一种独特的临床方法，特别是对于复杂病例（即多次脑震荡的运动员、慢性症状）和提供有价值信息以指导管理和重返赛场决策的客观测量。
