The Effect of Playing Career on Chronic Neurophysiologic Changes in Retired Male Football Players: An Exploratory Study Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

This exploratory study is the first to report pathophysiologic outcomes in a cohort of retired professional athletes associated with total career exposure, rather than professional career exposure or concussion history. Without a control group comparison and cross-correlational design, these preliminary results should be viewed with caution; however, TMS assessment could be considered a viable biomarker in future studies of retired athletes classified with traumatic encephalopathy syndrome.