CLINICAL STUDIES CONCUSSION IN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL: RECOVERY OF NFL AND HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES ASSESSED BY COMPUTERIZED NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL

OBJECTIVE: Acute recovery from concussion (mild traumatic brain injury) is assessed in samples of NFL and high school athletes evaluated within days of injury. METHODS: All athletes were evaluated within days of injury using a computer-based neuropsychological test and symptom inventory protocol. Test performance was com-pared to preinjury baseline levels of a similar but not identical group of athletes who had undergone preseason testing. Statistical analyses were completed using Multivar-iate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). RESULTS: NFL athletes demonstrated a rapid neuropsychological recovery. As a group, NFL athletes returned to baseline performance in a week with the majority of athletes having normal performance two days after injury. High school athletes dem-onstrated a slower recovery than NFL athletes. CONCLUSION: Computer-based neuropsychological testing was used within the overall medical evaluation and care of NFL athletes. As found in a prior study using more traditional neuropsychological testing, NFL players did not demonstrate decre-ments in neuropsychological performance beyond one week of injury. High school players demonstrated more prolonged neuropsychological effects of concussion