fMRI and Brain Activation after Sport Concussion: A Tale of Two Cases

Sport-related concussions are now recognized as a major public health concern: the number of participants in sport and recreation is growing, possibly playing their games faster, and there is heightened public awareness of injuries to some high-profile athletes. However, many clinicians still rely on subjective symptom reports for the clinical determination of recovery. Relying on subjective symptom reports can be problematic, as it has been shown that some concussed athletes may downplay their symptoms. The use of neuropsychological (NP) testing has enabled clinicians to measure the effects and extent of impairment following concussion more precisely, providing more objective metrics for determining recovery. Nevertheless, there is a remaining concern that brain abnormalities may exist beyond the point at which individuals achieve recovery in self-reported symptoms and cognition measured by NP testing. Our understanding of brain recovery after concussion is important, not only from a neuroscience perspective, but also from the perspective of clinical decision-making for safe return-to-play. A number of advanced neuroimaging tools, including blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have independently yielded early information on abnormal brain functioning. In the two cases presented in this article, we report contrasting brain activation patterns and recovery profiles using fMRI. Importantly, fMRI was conducted using adapted versions of the most sensitive computerized NP tests administered in our current clinical practice to determine impairments and recovery after sport-related concussion. One of the cases is consistent with the concept of lagging brain recovery.