Does A History Of Sports-related Concussion Alter Reaction Time Assessed In Virtual Reality In High School Football Players?

Following sport-related concussion (SRC), clinical assessments of neurocognitive function indicate reaction time deficits. Motor control deficits are further exacerbated with the addition of a secondary cognitive task and are associated with increased risk of lower extremity musculoskeletal injury following SRC. However, the effects of SRC on simple (one stimulus and response) and choice (two stimuli and responses) reaction times during more complex assessments that challenge the sensorimotor system (e.g., in virtual reality [VR]) have not been evaluated. PURPOSE: To evaluate if high school football players with self-reported SRC history have poorer simple and choice reaction times assessed in VR compared to counterparts without SRC history. METHODS: 311 high school male football players (age, 15.4 ± 1.3 y; height 1.78 ± 0.64 m; mass 62.8 ± 20.4 kg) were recruited prior to their competitive season. 199 players completed a SRC history questionnaire and VR-based simple and choice reaction time tasks (history of SRC group, [CONC], N = 63; control group [CTRL], N = 136). Each task was repeated three times and average reaction time (ms) for each task was calculated. Cost was also calculated as percent difference between simple and choice reaction time tasks. Reaction times and cost were compared between groups via Mann-Whitney U or Student’s t-tests based on normality distributions. Statistical significance was set a priori at p < .05. RESULTS: Within the CONC group, 11% of players reported their most recent SRC was within the past 6 months and 89% greater than 6 months prior to testing. There were no group differences for single (CONC 716 ± 93 ms; CTRL 724 ± 85 ms; p = .40) or choice reaction times (CONC 924 ± 120 ms; CTRL 955 ± 117 ms; p = .09), or cost (CONC 29 ± 12%; CTRL 31 ± 10%; p = .20). CONCLUSION: Given that no significant differences were observed in VR-based reaction times in high school football players with SRC history versus those without SRC history, it may be possible that either neurocognitive deficits within the tested domains were resolved or that these differences may be exhibited in closer proximity to the SRC. Future work may assess recently concussed athletes to determine if VR-based reaction times are acutely affected and change throughout SRC recovery, and if reaction times are associated with future injury risk.