Submission Date

7-20-2018

Document Type

Paper- Restricted to Campus Access

Department

Neuroscience

Second Department

Psychology

Faculty Mentor

Joel Bish

Comments

Presented during the 20th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 20, 2018 at Ursinus College.

Project Description

Concussions have lasting effects on the human brain and behavior. In recent years, the number of concussions diagnosed annually significantly increased and has become a national health concern. Data was collected from college student participants who have received one or more concussions, and from control participants who have not. This data included neuropsychological tests of impulse control, self-report surveys, and EEG readings measuring the alpha, beta, theta, and delta brain waves in the frontal lobe. Participants were recorded during awake and resting states, and while performing tasks that require the use of the brain's impulse control center in the frontal lobe. Previous research has shown that concussed individuals show altered brain rhythms as well as altered impulse control function. The results from the various tests were compared between the two groups of individuals to find differences between concussed and non-concussed individuals in performance on specific tasks and through EEG data. In concussed individuals, alpha, beta, and delta waves were more active during a color word interference test, and alpha, delta, and theta brain waves were less active in an eyes-closed resting state. In concussed individuals, more brain power is required to perform at a similar behavioral level as non-concussed individuals.

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