Poster Session 03 Program Schedule
02/15/2024
09:30 am - 10:40 am
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)
Poster Session 03: Neurotrauma | Neurovascular
Final Abstract #26
Headache Disorders and Neurocognitive Performance Pre- and Post-Concussion
Kaci Gorres, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, United States
Anthony LoGalbo, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, United States
Category: Concussion/Mild TBI (Adult)
Keyword 1: concussion/ mild traumatic brain injury
Keyword 2: sports-related neuropsychology
Objective:
To examine the relationship between pre-existing headache disorders, such as headache or migraine, and neurocognitive performance before and after concussion among college athletes.
Participants and Methods:
A total of 1129 NCAA Division II college athletes completed baseline and/or post-concussion neuropsychological evaluations that included the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool – Fifth Edition (SCAT-5) and Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Tool (ImPACT). Athletes’ headache and/or migraine history was self-reported at baseline and classified as either positive or negative for pre-existing headaches. Additionally, athletes self-reported their most recent prior concussion and recovery time.
Results:
Results showed that athletes with a history of headache and/or migraine reported more symptoms and increased symptom severity at baseline compared to athletes with no history of headache and/or migraine. In addition, athletes with a headache history performed significantly worse on ImPACT Visual Memory and demonstrated significantly lower performance on Visual Motor Speed composites at baseline. Although no differences in symptoms from baseline to post-concussion were observed among athletes with a headache history after adjusting for baseline symptoms, headache history athletes did report significantly longer recovery times for prior suspected concussions.
Conclusions:
Results suggest college athletes with pre-existing headaches and/or migraines report more symptoms and have poorer neurocognitive performance at baseline; however, headache history does not appear to influence post-concussion symptoms or neurocognitive performance when controlling for baseline. This emphasizes the importance of utilizing individualized baseline comparisons rather than group norming to account for differences in performances across athletes with and without a headache history. Future research may consider narrowing the scope of headache disorders to focus on specific characteristics, such as chronic migraine with and without aura. If differences amongst headache groups at baseline continue to be observed, normative baseline data specific to headache and/or migraine history may need to be considered. Results also suggest that athletes with a headache and/or migraine history may experience a more prolonged concussion recovery; however, findings were based on athletes’ self-report in relation to a prior injury. Future research should explore concussion recovery among athletes with and without a headache history in a prospective manner. Additionally, since concussed athletes can continue to experience headaches related to a previously existing medical diagnosis or disorder, determining whether athletes’ headaches are related to prior history or lingering from a concussion continues to be an area for further growth in the field of neuropsychology. Therefore, future research should examine how to better differentiate prior headaches from concussion headaches when making a return to play decision.
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