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Context: Neurocognitive reaction time has been associated with musculoskeletal injury risk, but visuomotor reaction time (VMRT) derived from tests that present greater challenges to visual stimulus detection and motor response execution may have a stronger association. Objective: To assess VMRT as a predictor of injury and the extent to which improvement may result from VMRT training. Design: Cohort study. Setting: University athletic performance center. Participants: 76 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division-I FCS football players (19.5 ± 1.4 y, 1.85 ± 0.06 m, 102.98 ± 19.06 kg). Interventions: Preparticipation and postseason assessments. A subset of players who exhibited slowest VMRT in relation to the cohort's postseason median value participated in a 6-wk training program. Main Outcome Measures: Injury occurrence was related to preparticipation VMRT, which was represented by both number of target hits in 60 s and average elapsed time between hits (ms). Receiver operating characteristic analysis identified the optimum cut point for a binary injury risk classification. A nonparametric repeated-measures analysis of ranks procedure was used to compare posttraining VMRT values for slow players who completed at least half of the training sessions (n = 15) with those for untrained fast players (n = 27). Results: A preparticipation cut point of ≤85 hits (≥705 ms) discriminated injured from noninjured players with odds ratio = 2.30 (90% confidence interval, 1.05-5.06). Slow players who completed the training exhibited significant improvement in visuomotor performance compared with baseline (standardized response mean = 2.53), whereas untrained players exhibited a small performance decrement (group x trial interaction effect, L2 = 28.74; P < .001). Conclusions: Slow VMRT appears to be an important and modifiable injury risk factor for college football players. More research is needed to refine visuomotor reaction-time screening and training methods and to determine the extent to which improved performance values can reduce injury incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that focus on the impact of supervision of computerized neurocognitive baseline test performance in high school athletes. Topics discussed include study on school athletes across middle Tennessee 2007 to 2012, performing of t-test between the selfreported supervised and unsupervised groups, and result showing that self-reported supervised athletes showed better visual motor speed than self-reported unsupervised athletes.

The article discusses a study that examined the connection between concussion history and neurocognitive performance in a sample of elite National Football League (NFL) draft picks. A total of 226 potential draft picks over seven years were invited to visit a specific NFL team's headquarters after the combine. A table is shown that outlines the number of potential NFL draft picks assessed by year. The result showed that concussion history had no ties to neurocognitive performance.

Background: Researchers have begun to focus on age and sex differences in concussion outcomes. Results suggest that younger athletes and female athletes may take longer to recover from a concussion. However, little is known about the interactive effects of age and sex on symptoms, neurocognitive testing (NCT), and postural stability.Hypothesis/Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine sex and age differences in symptoms, NCT, and postural stability following concussion. We hypothesized that high school and female athletes would have worse symptoms, NCT, and postural stability than college and male athletes, respectively.Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.Methods: A total of 296 concussed athletes from a multistate, 2-year study were enrolled in this study. Participants completed the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT) and Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) at baseline and again at 2, 7, and 14 days after concussion. Participants completed the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) at 1, 2, and 3 days after concussion.Results: Female athletes performed worse than male athletes on visual memory (mean, 65.1% and 70.1%, respectively; P = .049) and reported more symptoms (mean, 14.4 and 10.1, respectively) after concussion (P = .035). High school athletes performed worse than college athletes on verbal (mean, 78.8% and 82.7%, respectively; P = .001) and visual (mean, 65.8% and 69.4%, respectively; P = .01) memory. High school athletes were still impaired on verbal memory 7 days after concussion compared with collegiate athletes (P = .001). High school male athletes scored worse on the BESS than college male athletes (mean, 18.8 and 13.0, respectively; P = .001). College female athletes scored worse on the BESS than high school female athletes (mean, 21.1 and 16.9, respectively; P = .001).Conclusion: The results of the current study supported age differences in memory and sex differences in memory and symptoms and an interaction between age and sex on postural stability after concussion that warrant consideration from clinicians and researchers when interpreting symptoms, specific components of NCT, and postural stability tests. Future research should develop and assess interventions tailored to age and sex differences and include younger (<14 years) participants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]