Electrophysiological trajectories of concussion recovery: From acute to prolonged stages in late teenagers.
Mo Mortazavi, Francesca Arese Lucini, David Joffe and 1 others
PMID 36710690WHAT IT FOUND
Athletes who recovered quickly showed lasting brain-wave changes even after symptoms resolved.
Patients with persistent symptoms had distinct electrical patterns: reduced rear-brain activity, increased front-brain activity, and stronger long-distance brain connections. These markers did not correlate with specific cognitive test scores.
Key findings
01P300 amplitude (a measure of attentional processing) remained significantly reduced in athletes with simple concussion even at return-to-play, 10 days after injury.
02Patients with persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS) showed unique spectral changes not seen in acute groups: reduced occipital alpha amplitude and frequency, accompanied by increased frontal alpha amplitude.
03PPCS patients demonstrated increased long-distance interhemispheric coherence (occipital-frontal) compared to baseline, suggesting potential neural reorganization.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional for the PPCS group, meaning patients were measured only once during their chronic phase. There were no pre-injury baselines for PPCS patients, so true recovery trajectories could not be confirmed. The injury mechanisms varied widely (sports, falls, motor vehicle accidents), and medication profiles were not controlled for, introducing significant heterogeneity. The study did not analyze correlations between the EEG/ERP findings and the results of the neuropsychological or vestibular testing that patients also completed. Sample sizes for gender comparisons were insufficient to rule out sex-based differences in electrophysiological recovery. The 'simple concussion' group was followed longitudinally, but the 'PPCS' group was not, making direct trajectory comparisons between the two groups difficult.
Declared interests
The study was approved by the Solutions Institutional Review Board. The text does not explicitly state funding sources or conflicts of interest for the authors, though it references the use of the WAVi® Research Platform (WAVi Research, Boulder, CO, USA).
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the distinct EEG patterns in PPCS patients as a diagnostic test ready for clinical use. The study did not correlate these electrical markers with specific cognitive or functional deficits, and the lack of pre-injury baselines for the PPCS group means we cannot confirm these patterns were not present before the injury.