Submission Date

7-22-2016

Document Type

Paper- Restricted to Campus Access

Department

Neuroscience

Faculty Mentor

Joel Bish

Student Contributor

Jillian Casarella

Second Student Contributor

Rachel Raucci

Comments

Presented during the 18th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 22, 2016 at Ursinus College.

Supported by a collaborative research grant from Lockheed Martin.

Project Description

In recent years, there has been an upswing in the number of concussion diagnoses per year in the United States, particularly in young athletes. Accompanying this recent trend is an increased amount of research on concussions and their long-term impacts. Many efforts have been geared toward educating individuals on the dangers of concussions, as well as creating preventative measures to lessen the amount of cases in the future. Over the course of the summer, we collected and compared data from 40 concussed and non-concussed college students. This data included the results from various neuropsychological batteries, as well as self-report surveys and participants’ EEG readings. We expected that previously concussed students will have significantly different results than non-concussed students. Specifically, we believed that students who have suffered a concussion will exhibit deficits in executive control and impulse control tasks. We are using this data along with results from concussion attitude surveys to build an educational outreach program. This multi-faceted program is geared toward coaches, student-athletes, parents, and athletic trainers in an attempt to educate each group on the severity of concussions and help to change the current attitude toward these injuries.

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