Objective

The present study sought to determine: 1) whether concussed adolescents exhibited deficits in neurocognitive functioning as reflected by neurophysiological alterations; 2) if neurophysiological alterations could be linked to supplementary data such as the number of previous concussions and days since injury; and 3) if deficits in psychological health and behavioural tests increased during diagnosis duration.

Methods

Twenty-six concussed adolescents were compared to twenty-eight healthy controls with no prior concussions. Self-report inventories evaluated depressive and concussive symptomatology, while behavioral tests evaluated cognitive ability qualitatively. To assess neurophysiological markers of cognitive function, two separate auditory oddball tasks were employed: 1) an active oddball task measuring executive control and attention as reflected by the N2b and P300, respectively; and 2) a passive oddball task assessing the early, automatic pre-conscious awareness processes as reflected by the MMN.

Results

Concussed adolescents displayed delayed N2b and attenuated P300 responses relative to controls; showed elevated levels of depressive and concussive symptomatology; scored average-to- low-average in behavioral tests; and exhibited N2b response latencies that correlated with number of days since injury.

Conclusion

These findings demonstrate that concussed adolescents exhibit clear deficiencies in neurocognitive function, and that N2b response latency may be a marker of concussion recovery.

中文翻译：

---

脑震荡青少年认知缺陷和恢复的神经生理学标志物。

客观的

本研究试图确定：1) 脑震荡的青少年是否表现出神经生理学改变所反映的神经认知功能缺陷；2) 神经生理学的改变是否可以与补充数据相关联，例如先前的脑震荡次数和受伤后的天数；3) 如果在诊断期间心理健康和行为测试的缺陷增加。

方法

将 26 名脑震荡青少年与 28 名没有脑震荡史的健康对照进行了比较。自我报告清单评估抑郁和脑震荡症状，而行为测试则定性评估认知能力。为了评估认知功能的神经生理学标记，采用了两个独立的听觉古怪任务：1) 主动古怪任务测量执行控制和注意力，分别由 N2b 和 P300 反映；2) 一个被动的古怪任务，评估由 MMN 反映的早期、自动的前意识意识过程。

结果

与对照组相比，脑震荡的青少年表现出延迟的 N2b 和减弱的 P300 反应；表现出抑郁和脑震荡症状水平升高；在行为测试中得分从平均到低；并表现出与受伤后天数相关的 N2b 反应延迟。

结论

这些发现表明，脑震荡的青少年表现出明显的神经认知功能缺陷，并且 N2b 反应潜伏期可能是脑震荡恢复的标志。