SynthesisNeuropsychology review2023
Diffusion Imaging of Sport-related Repetitive Head Impacts-A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Neuropsychology review, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Repetitive Head Impacts During Contact Sports and Fluid Biomarkers of Neural Damage: A Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Uncovering the hidden effects of repetitive subconcussive head impact exposure: A mega-analytic approach characterizing seasonal brain microstructural changes in contact and collision sports athletes.Human brain mapping · 2024Pooled it
- The second decade of DTI in TBI part 1: a systematic review of mild TBI.Frontiers in neurologyPooled it
- Youth Soccer Participation and Brain Health Outcomes in Adolescent Athletes.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Brain Health in Former Professional Motorsport Drivers: Case Series in a Population Exposed to Sport-Related Concussions and Repetitive Head Impacts.Sports medicine - open · 2026Article
- Soccer heading and white matter microstructural changes: a two-year longitudinal cohort study.Brain imaging and behavior · 2026Article
- Effects of One Season of Rugby on the Neurological Integrity of Male Adolescent Players.Sports medicine - open · 2026Article
- Dose-dependent white matter changes associated with repetitive head impacts in former American football players.Brain communications · 2026Article
- Microstructural alterations in brain tissue of ME/CFS and long COVID using diffusion tensor imaging and diffusion kurtosis imaging.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Sex, but not exposure-related variables, predicts baseline serum glial fibrillar acidic protein and neurofilament light levels in contact sport athletes.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2026Article
- Population-referenced multiregional brain-volume profiles associated with performance and concussion history in athletes: an exploratory study.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Soccer Heading Exposure-Dependent Microstructural Injury at Depths of Sulci in Adult Amateur Players.Neurology · 2025Article
- Orbitofrontal Gray-White Interface Injury and the Association of Soccer Heading With Verbal Learning.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Radiological Correlates of Head Injuries in School-Level Rugby Union: A 10-Year Retrospective Cross-Sectional Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Article
- The Acute Effects of Non-concussive Head Impacts on Brain Microstructure, Chemistry and Function in Male Soccer Players: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial.Sports medicine - open · 2025Article
- MR elastography-based detection of impaired skull-brain mechanical decoupling performance in response to repetitive head impacts.European radiology · 2025Article
- Investigating the Association of Concussion and Contact Sport Exposure History With Brain Microstructure Using Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- Understanding Beliefs and Perceptions of Parents, Coaches, and Organizational Leaders toward Non-concussive Head Impact Exposure in Youth American Football.International journal of sports science & coaching · 2025Article
- American Football On-Field Head Impact Kinematics: Influence of Acceleration Signal Characteristics on Peak Maximal Principal Strain.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2024Article
- Head Impact Exposure in Hawaiian High School Football: Influence of Adherence Rates on a Helmetless Tackling and Blocking Training Intervention.Journal of athletic training · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Repetitive head impacts (RHI) are commonly observed in athletes participating in contact sports such as American football, ice hockey, and soccer. RHI usually do not result in acute symptoms and are therefore often referred to as subclinical or "subconcussive" head impacts. Epidemiological studies report an association between exposure to RHI and an increased risk for the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) has emerged as particularly promising for the detection of subtle alterations in brain microstructure following exposure to sport-related RHI. The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review of studies investigating the effects of exposure to RHI on brain microstructure using dMRI. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to determine studies that met inclusion and exclusion criteria across three databases. Seventeen studies were identified and critically evaluated. Results from these studies suggest an association between white matter alterations and RHI exposure in youth and young adult athletes. The most consistent finding across studies was lower or decreased fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of the directionality of the diffusion of water molecules, associated with greater exposure to sport-related RHI. Whether decreased FA is associated with functional outcome (e.g., cognition) in those exposed to RHI is yet to be determined. This review further identified areas of importance for future research to increase the diagnostic and prognostic value of dMRI in RHI and to improve our understanding of the effects of RHI on brain physiology and microstructure.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.