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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Applied Neuroimaging
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1511915

Association of player position and functional connectivity alterations in collegiate American football players: an fMRI study

Provisionally accepted
Owen Griffith Owen Griffith 1*Xiaoxiao Bai Xiaoxiao Bai 1Alexa Walter Alexa Walter 2Michael Gay Michael Gay 1Jon Kelly Jon Kelly 1Wayne Sebastianelli Wayne Sebastianelli 1Linda Papa Linda Papa 3Semyon Slobounov Semyon Slobounov 1
  • 1 The Pennsylvania State University (PSU), University Park, United States
  • 2 Pennsylvania Muscle Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
  • 3 Orlando Health, Orlando, Florida, United States

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

    Introduction: Resting state-fMRI, provides a sensitive method for detecting changes in brain functional integrity, both with respect to regional oxygenated blood flow and whole network connectivity. The primary goal of this report was to examine alterations in functional connectivity in collegiate American football players after a season of repetitive head impact exposure. Methods: Collegiate football players completed a rs-fMRI at pre-season and one week into post-season. A seed-based functional connectivity method, isolating the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), was utilized to create individual functional connectivity maps. During group analysis, first, voxel-wise paired sample t-tests identified significant changes in connectivity from pre-to post-season, by player, and previous concussion history. Second, 10 DMN ROIs were constructed by overlaying an anatomical map over regions of positive correlation from one-sample t-tests of pre-season and postseason. These ROIs, plus the LpCun, were included in linear mix-effect modeling, with position or concussion history as covariates. Results: 66 players were included (mean age 20.6 years; 100% male; 34 (51.5%) non-speed position players). The 10 DMN ROIs showed no alterations from preseason to post-season. By concussion history, the right temporal ROI demonstrated a significant effect on baseline functional connectivity (p=0.03). Speed players, but not non-speed players, demonstrated a significant decrease in functional connectivity in the precuneus from pre-to postseason (p<0.001). Discussion: There are region-specific differences functional connectivity related to both position and concussion history in American collegiate football players. Player position affected functional connectivity across a season of football. Position-specific differences in head impact exposure rate and magnitude plays a crucial role in functional connectivity alterations.

    Keywords: functional connectivity1, resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging2, American football3, default mode network4, posterior cingulate cortex5, precuneus6

    Received: 15 Oct 2024; Accepted: 20 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Griffith, Bai, Walter, Gay, Kelly, Sebastianelli, Papa and Slobounov. 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: Owen Griffith, The Pennsylvania State University (PSU), University Park, United States

    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.