How do brain trauma injuries in sport affect cognitive function?

1. TBIs and
Cognition
How can brain trauma in sporting injuries affect
cognitive function?

2. A traumatic brain injury is a form of acquired
brain injury that occurs when a sudden trauma
causes damage to the brain.
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

3. There are two types of brain trauma; blunt force or penetrating trauma.
Blunt force trauma occurs when there is a forceful impact, fall, or physical attack with a dull
object.
Penetrating trauma occurs when an object enters the brain tissue.
The symptoms of a TBI can be mild, moderate, or severe depending on the extent of damage to
the brain.
Types of Brain Trauma

4. SYMPTOMS
Mild TBI Moderate or Severe TBI
- May be conscious or unconscious
- Headache
- Confusion
- Lightheadedness
- Dizziness
- Blurred vision or tired eyes
- Ringing in the ears
- Bad taste in the mouth
- Fatigue or lethargy
- Change in sleep patterns
- Behavioral or mood changes
- Trouble with memory, concentration,
attention, or thinking
- Similar symptoms
- Headache that worsens or does not go away
- Repeated vomiting or nausea
- Convulsions or seizures
- Inability to awake from sleep
- Dilation of one or both pupils
- Slurred speech
- Weakness or numbness
- Loss of coordination
- Increased confusion
- Restlessness
- Agitation

5. Concussions are the most common TBI in sporting injuries.
Concussions occur when there is a direct blow to the head, face or
neck, or from any part to somewhere else on the body that creates a
force that shakes the brain.
When the forces moves the brain, it strikes the skull or twists upon
itself, damaging neurons and causing bruising.
They are the mildest form of a TBI and disturb the brain’s function
rather than physical structure.
Certain sports have higher risk of concussions.
These sports include; boxing, rugby and AFL.
CONCUSSIONS

6. Cognitive function refers to brain based skills which are required for acquisition of knowledge,
manipulation of reasoning and thinking. It involves multiple mental abilities including learning,
thinking, reasoning, remembering, problem solving, decision making, and attention.
There are many impacts on cognitive function after brain trauma.
It is common for people who have suffered from TBI to have problems with attention,
concentration, speech and language, learning and memory, reasoning, planning and problem
solving.
A major problem is the inability to focus, pay attention, or attend to more than one thing at a time.
This results in restlessness and being easily distracted, having difficulty finishing tasks or working
on more than one, problems carrying on long conversations or sitting still for long periods of time.
Because attention skills are considered a ‘building block’ of higher level skills, many problems
such as the slowing down of processing and understanding, difficulty with language and
communication, trouble learning and remembering, and difficulty planning and recognising
problems arise.
Impact on Cognitive Function

7. TBI remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality amongst civilians who play
sports.
So much is not yet known and the underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully elucidated.
What we do know is that initial brain injury involves acute and irreversible primary damage to the
parenchyma.
Parenchyma is any functional tissue of an organ.
TBI also cause;
- degeneration of axons (long parts of the nerve cells)
- mitochondrial dysfunction
- excitotoxicity (a phenomenon that describes the toxic actions of excitatory neurotransmitters
that lead to the loss of neuronal function and cell death)
- oxidative stress (imbalance between production and accumulation of oxygen reactive species in
cells and tissue)
- apoptotic cell death of neurons and glia (process of programmed cell death)
- Abnormal buildup of protein Tau (found in neurons of thoses with Alzheimer’s)
- Increased pressure caused by bleeding in the brain
Secondary brain injuries often progress slowly over months or years.
Because of this, there is a window of opportunity for therapeutic interventions.
Why does TBI affect Cognition?

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<https://www.brainline.org/article/cognitive-problems-after-traumatic-brain-injury> [Accessed 22 January 2022].
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Available at: <https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Traumatic-Brain-Injury-Information-Page> [Accessed 21 January
2022].
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