Schedule of Events | Symposia

BOLD Variability as a Biomarker of Concussion in College Athletes

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 30, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Doug Schultz¹, Bethany Barnwell¹, Heather Bouchard¹, Aron Barbey¹; ¹University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Concussion poses a significant public health challenge, with considerable variability in clinical outcomes and neuroimaging results. Traditional studies comparing post-concussion data to healthy controls overlook individual baseline differences, which limits their ability to precisely assess concussion-related changes. By studying individuals before and after concussion, we can control for these baseline factors and obtain a clearer understanding of the effect of the injury. Recent research suggests that BOLD signal variability may be a more sensitive marker of concussion-related brain alterations than traditional measures. This variability could reflect underlying changes in brain function, such as altered cerebral perfusion or microvascular reactivity, that are not captured by average signal measures. We aimed to investigate how concussion affects BOLD variability and its relationship to cognitive deficits. We collected resting-state fMRI data from 54 NCAA Division I college athletes at baseline and within 48 hours of concussion diagnosis, alongside self-reported symptoms and neurological assessments. BOLD variability was quantified using mean square successive differences and analyzed across brain networks. We observed significant reductions in BOLD variability in the somatomotor and language networks following concussion. Greater decreases in somatomotor variability were associated with more severe cognitive symptoms. These findings suggest that reduced BOLD variability may reflect underlying changes in brain function contributing to cognitive impairments. Importantly, these relationships were evident only when comparing concussion data to baseline, underscoring the value of baseline brain imaging measures. These findings illustrate how baseline neuroimaging measures can improve our understanding of concussion-related brain changes and their impact on cognitive function.

Topic Area: THINKING: Other