Neurocognitive vulnerability amongst university rugby players versus noncontact sport controls

Abstract

University rugby players were compared with IQ-equivalent noncontact sports controls on memory and attentional tasks at the pre- and postseason intervals. Results revealed significant lowering for rugby players relative to controls at the postseason interval for attentional tasks with a speeded visuomotor component (ImPACT Visual Motor Speed; Trail Making Test, TMT, A and B). There was a practice effect for controls only between the pre- and postseason intervals for attentional tasks that commonly reveal improvements after a long retest interval (TMT A and B; Digits Backwards). Medium to large effect sizes implicate clinically relevant cognitive vulnerability for university-level rugby players in association with years of exposure to repetitive concussive injury.

Keywords:

• Mild traumatic brain injury
• Sports concussion
• Rugby Union

This research was funded by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) and a Rhodes University Council Grant. Thanks are due to: coresearchers Stephanie Case and Melissa Boulind who assisted in the data collection; Andre Kock for scoring assistance and editing; and Professor Mark Lovell, Director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical School Sports Concussion Center for donation of the ImPACT software for the purposes of the research. The first author is commercially involved in concussion management in South Africa, using the ImPACT program.