It is predicted that sportsmen who are diagnosed with concussion more than once will be exposed to long term effects of concussion, such as decreased activity in the primary motor cortex resulting in a slower reaction time.

Introduction:

The brain is an organ that serves as the centre of the nervous system in all humans. The brain is located in the head, encased in a skull usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. The brain is the most complex organ in the body of most living organisms. In a human, the cerebral cortex contains approximately 15–33 billion neurons, each connected by synapses to several thousand other neurons. These neurons allow the brain to send messages throughout the body actions such as movement. Structures …show more content…
Concussion has been found to have long-term effects by inhibiting functions of the primary motor cortex which is the part of the brain controlling movement. The Primary Motor Cortex is located in the frontal lobe and its function is to generate message from neurons to complete specific physical movement. Multiple concussions have resulted in a delay in processing movement by the motor cortex. Multiple concussions have also been found to cause serious harm to those who have not treated it properly. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. In CTE, a protein called Tau forms clumps that slowly spread throughout the brain, killing …show more content…
Using transcranial magnetic stimulation paradigms, this study investigated motor cortex integrity as a function of an athlete’s prior history of concussions. Motor cortex excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms were studied in athletes using four different transcranial magnetic stimulation protocols, namely 1) resting motor threshold, 2) intracortical inhibition and intracortical facilitation in a paired-pulse paradigm, 3) excitability of the corticospinal system using an input-output curve, and 4) intracortical inhibition in a cortical silent-period paradigm. Motor-evoked potentials were recorded from the first dorsal interosseous muscle of the right hand. Cortical silent-period duration in athletes who have experienced multiple concussions was prolonged when compared to that of normal control participants. Linear regression suggested that concussion severity was the main factor explaining motor cortex dysfunction. Moreover, when we retested the athletes, the cortical silent period was more prolonged in those who sustained another concussion after baseline testing had occurred. Findings from this study indicate that sports-related concussions result in long-term motor system dysfunctions that seem to be attributable to subclinical intracortical inhibitory system abnormalities. This study also shows that sustaining