Subjects

Seven varsity college athletes were enrolled in this study within one week of experiencing a sports related concussion (3F/4M, age = 19.7 ± 1.2 yrs) (Table 1). All athletes were evaluated on the field by a certified athletic trainer for signs or symptoms of a concussion (McCrory et al. 2013). Athletes with positive findings were referred to a sports medicine physician who confirmed the diagnosis of concussion and entered them into the treatment protocol set by the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center. Exclusion criteria were posttraumatic amnesia > 24 hours, loss of consciousness > 30 minutes and prior history of concussion. No structural injury related to concussion was evident on conventional T1 and T2 weighted imaging reviewed by a board certified neuroradiologist. No subjects experienced persistent symptoms longer than 2 weeks.

Subject information

M = Male; F = Female, L = Left; R = Right; B=Bilateral handedness; Headache score (maximum possible = 4) and Rivermead total (maximum possible = 64) come from Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (King et al. 1995).

In addition, eleven healthy college students with no history of concussion were enrolled (6F/5M, age = 20.0 ± 1.6 yrs). Seven of these controls were also varsity college athletes at the time of enrollment. All subjects gave written informed consent per Institutional Review Board guidelines. Symptoms were measured by the Rivermead Post Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (King et al. 1995) in all subjects at the time of scanning. This assessment asks the subject to rate 16 individual symptoms over the last 24 hours from 0 (not experienced at all) to 4 (a severe problem). The rating for “Headaches” and the total over all symptoms for each subject are included in Table 1.