UNM unveils concussion study

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Researchers from UNM and a nonprofit organization are striving to better understand and prevent concussions in student athletes. The University and Mind Research Network (MRN) are collaborating on Brain Safe, a project that seeks to discover and prevent the effects of concussions in athletes.

According to a press release, Brain Safe aims to study and minimize the impact of brain injury on (National Collegiate Athletic Association) athletes in contact sports. More than 200 athletes from UNM will receive MRI scans to study brain structure, chemistry, connectivity and function at the beginning of every season, according to the release.

UNM President Robert Frank, who ran a brain injury treatment program when he was a faculty member at the University of Missouri, said he supported the project because it would help protect athletes from the less noticeable effects of concussions.

Im really pleased theyre looking at this area because concussion is such a subtle thing, he said. Concussion has an additive effect, so each one of these concussions has additional effects, and by screening these athletes from a baseline and looking at them, we can ensure that none of our athletes have sustaining effects of doing something they love.

According to the press release, researchers would take MRI scans of athletes involved in the study every year or after an acute injury. They will compare these MRI scans against the baseline scan.

At a Board of Regents meeting on Oct. 8, the regents approved funding to support the project for three years.

Frank said the study is important because college students dont generally realize the long-term effects of multiple head injuries.

The trouble is young people never imagine that anything is going to be permanent, he said. You think youll shake off everything because your bodies are young and recover quickly. But the problem is brain injuries, concussions. The first doesnt do it, the second one starts to add. By the third one, you start to get permanent injuries.

Kent Kiehl, director of the Brain Safe project, said the innovation of the Brain Safe project stems from the baseline scan. When you work with the athletes, you have a complete, comprehensive assessment of their brains before they start playing, he said. Having that baseline is essential because concussions usually dont show up on an MRI scan afterwards.

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UNM unveils concussion study