Magnetoencephalopathy Study Suggests Link Between Concussions and Slower Aperiodic Activity in Adolescent Football Players

While it was previously dismissed as background noise, slower aperiodic activity on magnetoencephalopathy may emerge as a key clinical marker in the evaluation of concussions in high-school football players, according to new research that will be presented at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference.

For the study, researchers assessed resting state magnetoencephalopathy (MEG) studies performed prior to and after the season for 91 high school football players as well as data from Post-Concussive Symptom Inventory (PCSI) evaluations for these players.

The researchers found that increased aperiodic exponents in superior-frontal cortices were associated with concussions in the cohort, and that the slowing of aperiodic activity was associated with football players who had higher post-concussion symptomatology.

In a recent interview, lead study author Kevin C. Yu, B.S., noted the impact of magnetoencephalography in detecting these changes.

“Magnetoencephalography, or MEG, is just a fantastic tool for understanding signaling of the human brain. It's not only non-invasive, but it provides just a unique combination of spatial and temporal resolution. (This enables us to) see what's happening in the brain at very fast time scales, which is needed to measure arhythmic signaling … (and) also pinpoint where those patterns of brain activity are coming from. That is important, especially when you're trying to see the effects of concussion at (these) specific brain areas,” maintained Yu, a neuroscience student at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C.

(Editor’s note: For additional coverage of RSNA, click here.)

While Yu pointed out that aperiodic features were perceived as background noise on brain scans in the past and weren’t given much of a focus in the neurophysiology literature, there has been a renewed interest in aperiodic activity with respect to concussions.

“ … Providing further elucidation of what these signals might mean and how they change in terms of neurophysiology is important, and I'm really excited to see where this goes moving forward,” added Yu.

(Editor’s note: For related content, see “MRI Study Reveals Significant Brain Changes in Adolescent Football Players,” “MRI Reveals Impact of Repetitive Head Impacts in Young Players” and “New Magnetic Sensor Picks Up Weaker Brain Waves, Potentially Improving Diagnosis”)

For more insights from Mr. Yu, watch the video below.