Longitudinal changes of resting state functional connectivity in high-contact sports
Motivation: Repetitive contact sports head trauma poses cognitive decline risks. Goal(s): To assess whether high-contact sports exposure leads to longitudinal changes in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and associated cognitive performance longitudinally. Approach: Cognitive performance changes over time were assessed using ImPACT test scores. We acquired longitudinal rsFC and assessed a linear mixed-effects model to examine changes in rsFC by sport (high vs. low-contact), time, and their interaction. Results: High-contact athletes showed reduced visual motor speed and memory longitudinally, and reduced integration between executive control and default mode, but stronger connectivity within networks associated with internally directed cognition and attention. Impact: This research sheds light on how repetitive head impacts in contact sports affect brain connectivity over time and cognitive performance.
Authors
- Michael Zeineh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6940-9096)
- Sohrab Sami
- Marios Georgiadis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0733-4559)
- Mahta Karimpoor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8025-6230)
- Charles Y. Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6423-8577)
- Gerald Grant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9680-741X)
- Nicholas Cecchi
- Brian E. Mills (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8718-089X)
- Victor E. Ortega (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3962-0528)
- David B. Camarillo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4965-2977)
- Max Wintermark (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6726-3951)
- Maged Goubran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5880-0818)
- Rastko Ćirić (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6347-7939)
- Yixin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7280-986X)
- Hossein Moein Taghavi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8585-1634)
- John Van Horn
- Jessica Towns
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition
- Published
- 2025-09-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.58530/2025/2070
- Primary Topic
- Sports Performance and Training
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00