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Updated: Mar 31, 2026
A Neuroscientific Approach to the Examination of Concussions in Student-Athletes
Published on: December 8, 2014
Resting-state quantitative electroencephalography in men and women college athletes before and after sport-related
Mariane Doucet1, Hélène Brisebois2, Anne-Catherine Gauthier-Lamer3
1Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada; Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation (CRIR), Institut Universitaire sur la Réadaptation en Déficience Physique de Montréal (IURDPM), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montreal, QC H3S 2J4, Canada.
Abstract:
This study aimed to determine whether sex-related differences exist in resting-state quantitative electroencephalography (rs-QEEG), along with post-concussion symptoms and psychological health indicators, at baseline and within 72 h following a sport-related concussion. Baseline visit included 115 (31 women) student-athletes aged 16-22 years old where self-reported measures of psychological health and post-concussion symptoms, as well as 10 min of rs-QEEG (five minutes eyes-closed, five minutes eyes-open) were recorded. 30 athletes (8 women) subsequently sustained a sport-related concussion during training or competition of the 2019-2020 season and were reassessed with the same post-concussion symptoms scale and 10 min of rs-QEEG. Primary rs-QEEG outcomes included absolute and relative power across standard frequency bands. At baseline, women exhibited higher beta1 power (absolute and relative) and higher beta2 power (absolute), primarily in the eyes-open condition, after Benjamini-Hochberg corrections were applied. They also reported greater scores for anxiety, sleep-arousal, affective and total symptoms. No significant associations between rs-QEEG power and symptoms were observed after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Following a concussion, no statistically significant main effect of time on rs-QEEG measures was observed after correction for multiple comparisons. However, theta absolute power showed a decrease across regions in the eyes-open condition at the unadjusted level. Additionally, women continued to show higher beta2 power (absolute and relative) than men. An association between alpha absolute power and affective symptoms was observed in women at the post-concussion assessment but did not remain significant in sensitivity analyses. Overall, these findings indicate sex-related differences across rs-QEEG parameters and symptom profiles, both before and after a concussion. Although the clinical utility of rs-QEEG has not yet been established, our findings underscore the importance of considering biological sex when interpreting rs-QEEG metrics and evaluating post-concussion symptomatology.
