Participation in Sports May Mitigate Genetic Risk for ADHD in School-Aged Children

June 9, 2021 · Posted in Risk Factors · Comment 

At the 2021 meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, researcher Keiko Kunitoki and colleagues reported that participation in sports decreased behavior abnormalities in 9- and 10-year-old children at genetic risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Sports were associated with greater hippocampal volume, which was associated with fewer behavioral abnormalities. Kunitoki and colleagues concluded that “participation in team sports mitigated genomic risk for psychopathology at age 9–10 in part through increased hippocampal volume.”

Editor’s Note: These data are consistent with a program called the Vermont Family-Based Approach developed by researcher James Hudziak, who heads the Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families at the University of Vermont. The program encourages families to practice different domains of wellness, such as music, mindfulness, exercise, and nutrition, among others. The idea is to support emotional and behavioral health, and to do so intensively in families where children show signs of mood and behavioral difficulties or are at risk for these difficulties.

Hudziak analyzed brain scans of 232 children aged 6 to 18 and reported that “practicing an instrument such as the piano or violin increased working memory, gray matter volume in the brain, and the ability to screen out irrelevant noise. Practicing mindfulness increased white matter volume and reduced anxiety and depression. Exercise also increased brain volume and neuropsychological abilities.”

In 2015, researcher Benjamin I. Goldstein reported that 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on a bike improved cognition and decreased hyperactivity in the medial prefrontal cortex in adolescents with and without bipolar disorder, and researcher Danella M. Hafeman reported that offspring of parents with bipolar disorder who exercised more had lower levels of anxiety.

To summarize, engaging in exercise, team sports, music, and meditation/mindfulness are beneficial for all children, and can be especially helpful for those at risk for depression or bipolar disorder. Children who are already symptomatic should additionally be offered something like family focused therapy (FFT), a multi-faceted approach developed by researcher David Miklowitz, in which families of young people at risk for bipolar disorder take part in therapy, learning together about the illness and practicing strategies for communication and coping.

Following Collisions, High School Football Players with No Signs of Concussion May Still Have Neurological Impairment

August 23, 2017 · Posted in Risk Factors · Comment 

brain injury in football

In a small 2014 study in the Journal of Neurotrauma, researcher Thomas M. Talavaga and colleagues reported that repeated head trauma that did not produce concussion symptoms was still associated with neurocognitive and neurophysiological changes to the brain in high school football players.

The longitudinal study tracked ‘collision events’ experienced by 11 teens who played football at the same high school. The young men also completed neurocognitive testing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of their brains over time.

The researchers expected to see the participants fall into two categories: those who had no concussions and normal neurological function, and those who had at least one concussion and subsequent neurological changes. They ended up observing a third group: young men who had not exhibited concussion symptoms, but nonetheless had measurable changes to their neurological functioning, including impairments to visual working memory and altered activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Young men in this last group had had more collisions that impacted the top front of the head, directly above the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

The authors suggest that the discovery of this third category mean that some neurological injuries are going undetected in high school football players. The players who are injured in this way are not likely to seek treatment, and may continue playing football, risking more neurological brain injury or brain damage with subsequent collisions.

Repeated Sports Injuries Linked to Brain Inflammation

September 15, 2016 · Posted in Risk Factors · Comment 

sports injuries linked to brain inflammation

Professional football players face repeated mild traumatic brain injuries throughout their careers, and may face a variety of brain impairments, from depression to dementia, as a result.

A recent study by researcher Jennifer Coughlin and colleagues clarified how these impairments may be caused by repeated brain impacts. The researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) scans to observe the volume of translocator protein, a marker of brain injury and repair, in the brains of seven active or recently retired National Football League (NFL) players. Compared to healthy, athletic volunteers who were age-matched to the NFL players, the NFL players showed greater volume of translocator protein in several brain regions, including the left and right thalamus, the left and right temporal poles, and the brainstem.

It is not yet clear whether the increased volume of translocator protein is a sign of the brain’s attempts to repair itself, or whether it shows deterioration toward chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Translocator protein is also considered a marker of microglial activation, which occurs with inflammation.

High levels of translocator protein have also been seen in patients with depression and schizophrenia.