Objective While the approach to concussion and post-concussion syndrome management remains largely clinical, significant advancements have been made in identifying potential biomarkers to aid in the diagnosis and management of head injures. One such potential biomarker is Brain Network Activation (BNA) analysis. BNA is a multi-channel, EEG-ERP based platform that involves algorithmic analysis to provide a network map of cortical activity and quantitative data during specific tasks.

Design Case Series.

Setting Outpatient, clinic-based.

Participants Three (3) athletes.

Outcome measures Analysis of the subject’s BNA performance yieldsa BNA score,which reflects the degree of similarity between the performance of the subject and the normative data. BNA scores are further placed into one of three subcategories: Working Memory and Attention (Target Stimuli), Automatic Attention Orienting (Novel Stimuli), and Sensory (Frequent Stimuli). Each subject underwent a BNA analysis while symptomatic, followed by repeat analyses once subjects were identified as clinically asymptomatic.

Main results In each of the three studies, there were improvements in BNA scores identified in one, or several, subcategories. More importantly, improvements in BNA scores directly correlated with clinical improvement in the post-concussive setting.

Conclusions Approach to concussion management, in both the short-term and long-term setting, remains largely clinical. Current research seeks a more objective means of assessing not only potential structural abnormalities following a concussion, but also an improved means of assessing a patient’s neurocognitive status. BNA has proven to be an effective, supportive tool in allowing clinicians and patients to objectify one’s progress following a concussive injury.

Competing interests None.