Review

Computerised cognitive assessment of athletes with sports related head injury

A Collie^1,2, D Darby^1,3, P Maruff^2,4

¹ Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
² Neuropsychology Laboratory, Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
³ Behavioural Neurology Laboratory, Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria
⁴ School of Psychology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to: Dr Collie, Neuropsychology Laboratory, Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, Locked Bag 11, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 3052 alex{at}neuro.mhri.edu.au

Professional and amateur participants in many sports are at risk of brain injury caused by impact with other players or objects. In many cases, mild cognitive deficits may persist after the common neurological signs of brain injury have passed. In recent years, the athlete's cognitive status after concussion has been measured with conventional "paper and pencil" neuropsychological tests. However, such tests are not ideal for sporting settings, as they are designed for the detection of gross cognitive impairments at a single assessment, not for the identification of mild cognitive deficits on repeated assessment. A number of computerised cognitive assessment tests and test batteries have been developed over the past two decades. These batteries offer major scientific and practical advantages over conventional neuropsychological tests which make them ideal for the assessment of cognitive function in sportspeople. This review first describes the problems associated with cognitive assessment of people with sports related cognitive deficits, and then critically examines the utility of conventional neuropsychological and computerised cognitive tests in sporting settings.

Key Words: cognitive assessment; head; injury; concussion; computerised; neuropsychology

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Commentary

P McCrory
Br. J. Sports Med. 2001 35: 302. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• McCrory, P, Meeuwisse, W, Johnston, K, Dvorak, J, Aubry, M, Molloy, M, Cantu, R (2009). Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport: the 3rd International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2008. Br. J. Sports. Med. 43: i76-i84 [Full Text]  
• Collie, A, McCrory, P, Makdissi, M (2006). Does history of concussion affect current cognitive status?. Br. J. Sports. Med. 40: 550-551 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bennett, P., Fawcett, L. (2006). Trauma injuries sustained by female footballers. Trauma 8: 69-76 [Abstract]  
• Collie, A, Makdissi, M, Maruff, P, Bennell, K, McCrory, P (2006). Cognition in the days following concussion: comparison of symptomatic versus asymptomatic athletes. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 77: 241-245 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Guskiewicz, K M, Bruce, S L, Cantu, R C, Ferrara, M S, Kelly, J P, McCrea, M, Putukian, M, McLeod, T C V. (2006). Research based recommendations on management of sport related concussion: summary of the National Athletic Trainers' Association position statement. Br. J. Sports. Med. 40: 6-10 [Full Text]  
• Fuller, C W, Junge, A, Dvorak, J (2005). A six year prospective study of the incidence and causes of head and neck injuries in international football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: i3-i9 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McCrory, P, Makdissi, M, Davis, G, Collie, A (2005). Value of neuropsychological testing after head injuries in football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: i58-i63 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Straume-Naesheim, T M, Andersen, T E, Bahr, R (2005). Reproducibility of computer based neuropsychological testing among Norwegian elite football players. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: i64-i69 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Straume-Naesheim, T M, Andersen, T E, Dvorak, J, Bahr, R (2005). Effects of heading exposure and previous concussions on neuropsychological performance among Norwegian elite footballers. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: i70-i77 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McCrory, P, Collie, A, Anderson, V, Davis, G (2004). Can we manage sport related concussion in children the same as in adults?. Br. J. Sports. Med. 38: 516-519 [Full Text]  
• Theye, F., Mueller, K. A. (2004). "Heads Up": Concussions in High School Sports. Clin Med Res 2: 165-171 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Collie, A, Maruff, P, Makdissi, M, McStephen, M, Darby, D G, McCrory, P (2004). Statistical procedures for determining the extent of cognitive change following concussion. Br. J. Sports. Med. 38: 273-278 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Silbert, B. S., Maruff, P., Evered, L. A., Scott, D. A., Kalpokas, M., Martin, K. J., Lewis, M. S., Myles, P. S. (2004). Detection of cognitive decline after coronary surgery: a comparison of computerized and conventional tests. Br J Anaesth 92: 814-820 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Moriarity, J., Collie, A., Olson, D., Buchanan, J., Leary, P., McStephen, M., McCrory, P. (2004). A prospective controlled study of cognitive function during an amateur boxing tournament. Neurology 62: 1497-1502 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Collie, A, Maruff, P, McStephen, M, Darby, D G (2003). Psychometric issues associated with computerised neuropsychological assessment of concussed athletes. Br. J. Sports. Med. 37: 556-559 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Collie, A, Maruff, P, McStephen, M, Darby, D (2003). Are Reliable Change (RC) calculations appropriate for determining the extent of cognitive change in concussed athletes?. Br. J. Sports. Med. 37: 370-372 [Full Text]  
• Collie, A, Maruff, P (2003). Computerised neuropsychological testing. Br. J. Sports. Med. 37: 2-2 [Full Text]  
• Shuttleworth-Edwards, A B, Border, M A (2002). Computer based screening in concussion management: use versus abuse. Br. J. Sports. Med. 36: 473-473 [Full Text]  
• Darby, D., Maruff, P., Collie, A., McStephen, M. (2002). Mild cognitive impairment can be detected by multiple assessments in a single day. Neurology 59: 1042-1046 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McCrory, P. (2001). When to retire after concussion?. Br. J. Sports. Med. 35: 380-382 [Full Text]