Prolonged cognitive-motor impairments in children and adolescents with a history of concussion

We investigated whether children and adolescents with concussion history show cognitive-motor integration (CMI) deficits.

Asymptomatic children and adolescents with concussion history (n = 50; mean 12.84 years) and no history (n = 49; mean: 11.63 years) slid a cursor to targets using their finger on a dual-touch-screen laptop; target location and motor action were not aligned in the CMI task.

Children and adolescents with concussion history showed prolonged CMI deficits, in that their performance did not match that of no history controls until nearly 2 years postevent.

These CMI deficits may be due to disruptions in fronto-parietal networks, contributing to an increased vulnerability to further injury. Current return-to-play assessments that do not test CMI may not fully capture functional abilities postconcussion.