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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurotrauma
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1438368

Mixed Martial Art athletes demonstrate different brain vital sign profiles compared to matched controls at baseline

Provisionally accepted
Thayne A. Munce Thayne A. Munce 1,2*Shaun D. Fickling Shaun D. Fickling 3*Shaquile R. Nijjer Shaquile R. Nijjer 3Daniel N. Poel Daniel N. Poel 1*Ryan C. D'Arcy Ryan C. D'Arcy 3,4,5*
  • 1 Environmental Influences on Health and Disease Group, Sanford Research, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
  • 2 Department of Pediatrics, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
  • 3 Center for Neurology Studies, HealthTech Connex Inc., Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
  • 4 BrainNet, Health and Technology District, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
  • 5 Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    We investigated objective brain vital signs derived from event-related potentials (ERPs) for mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes and matched controls (N=24). Brain vital sign scans were acquired from 9 MMA athletes and 15 age-and sex-matched controls. Our analysis specifically compared differences in brain vital signs between MMA athletes and controls at baseline. We predicted that MMA athletes would show significant differences relative to controls due to their ongoing exposure to repetitive head impacts. Participants were scanned to extract three well-established ERPs: N100 for auditory sensation; P300 for basic attention; and N400 for cognitive processing. Scans were verified using automated reports, with N100, P300, and N400 amplitudes and latencies manually identified by a blinded reviewer. Brain vital signs were compared across groups with a Kruskal-Wallis H-test for independent samples, with FDR correction for multiple comparisons. We identified significant differences between MMA athletes and controls. Specifically, there were significant N400 amplitude reductions, indicating that exposure to repetitive head impacts in MMA may be associated with changes in brain function.

    Keywords: event-related potential (ERP), Brain vital signs, MMA, Subconcussion, radar plot

    Received: 03 Jun 2024; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Munce, Fickling, Nijjer, Poel and D'Arcy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Thayne A. Munce, Environmental Influences on Health and Disease Group, Sanford Research, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
    Shaun D. Fickling, Center for Neurology Studies, HealthTech Connex Inc., Surrey, V3V 0C6, British Columbia, Canada
    Daniel N. Poel, Environmental Influences on Health and Disease Group, Sanford Research, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
    Ryan C. D'Arcy, Center for Neurology Studies, HealthTech Connex Inc., Surrey, V3V 0C6, British Columbia, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.