Cognitive functioning and soccer heading: one-year longitudinal assessment among professional players

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Neuroscience
• Neurology

Background:

• Soccer involves repetitive heading, leading to subconcussive impacts.
• Subconcussive impacts are cranial impacts not diagnosed as concussions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of soccer heading on cognitive functioning in professional players.
• To compare cognitive performance between soccer players and non-athletes over one year.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal case-control study comparing 22 professional soccer players and 37 non-athletes.
• Cognitive assessment using computerized neuropsychological tests and the Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NEUPSILIN) at two time points (T0 and T1).

Main Results:

• No cognitive impairment was found in soccer players; they outperformed controls in some tests.
• Heading exposure did not correlate with cognitive performance.
• Athletes did not show cognitive improvement from T0 to T1, unlike controls.

Conclusions:

• No direct association between soccer heading and cognitive impairment was demonstrated.
• Subconcussive impacts may negatively affect brain function, as evidenced by the lack of cognitive improvement in players.
• Further longitudinal research is necessary to understand the relationship between soccer heading and cognition.