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Limbic system structure volumes and associated neurocognitive functioning in former NFL players
Christian Lepage1,2, Marc Muehlmann1,3, Yorghos Tripodis4,5
1Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Brain Imaging and Behavior
|May 21, 2018
Summary
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain disease linked to head impacts. Researchers found smaller amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus volumes in former NFL players, suggesting potential biomarkers for CTE.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Radiology
- Sports Medicine
Background:
- Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease resulting from repetitive head impacts.
- Current CTE diagnosis is only possible post-mortem, necessitating the development of in-vivo diagnostic methods.
- Limbic structures are implicated in CTE pathology and may offer opportunities for in-vivo characterization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in limbic system regional volumes between former National Football League (NFL) players and controls.
- To examine the relationship between limbic structure volumes and neurobehavioral functioning in former NFL players.
- To identify potential in-vivo imaging biomarkers for CTE.
Main Methods:
- 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (3T MRI) was used to compare regional brain volumes.
- Key limbic structures analyzed included the amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus.
- Neurobehavioral functioning was assessed in former NFL players.
Main Results:
- Former NFL players exhibited significantly reduced volumes in the amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus compared to controls.
- Reduced cingulate gyrus volume correlated with poorer attention and psychomotor speed in former NFL players.
- Decreased right hippocampal volume was associated with impaired visual memory in the former NFL player group.
Conclusions:
- Reduced limbic system structure volumes are associated with neurocognitive deficits observed in former NFL players.
- Amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus volume reductions may serve as potential imaging biomarkers for neurodegeneration in individuals at risk for CTE.
- These findings support the potential of MRI-based volumetric analysis of limbic structures for early CTE detection in living individuals.
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