A pilot study evaluating the effects of concussion on the ability to form cognitive maps for spatial orientation in adolescent hockey players

ABSTRACT

Objective

In this pilot study, we investigated the impact of a sport-related concussion (SRC) on the ability to form cognitive maps, mental representations of the environment that are critical for spatial orientation and navigation.

Participants

We recruited 18 adolescent hockey players suffering from a SRC, and 19 age, sex and handedness-matched hockey players with no history of concussion.

Main measure

We asked participants to perform the Spatial Configuration Task (SCT), a computerized tool used to quantitatively measure the ability of the individuals to form cognitive maps.

Results

We found that athletes with a concussion performed significantly worse than controls on the SCT (F(1,34) = 5.82, p =.021, $\hat{d}$ = −0.72), confirming a negative effect of a SRC on the ability to form cognitive maps. We found no significant difference between groups in average response time, and no significant correlation between participants' performance at the SCT and reported symptoms of concussion as rated on the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT5).

Conclusions

Consistent with the integrity of extended neural networks required for effective spatial orientation and navigation, the findings of our pilot study provide preliminary evidence suggesting that a SRC may affect the ability to familiarize with a spatial surrounding and orient within it.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive Map
• navigation
• memory
• traumatic brain injury
• virtual reality

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all participants enrolled in the study and their parents for contributing their time. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Carolyn Emery and the Safe2Play research study staff (https://www.ucalgary.ca/siprc/node/472) as this study was a substudy of a larger prospective cohort study (Safe2Play) funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI). We would like to thank all participants enrolled in the study and their parents for contributing their time. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the support of the Safe to Play research program.

Disclosure of interest

The Authors report no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was partially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI).