So we've completed the most comprehensive
neuropsychological study of professional ice
hockey players to date.
This study was started in 2010 and these are
the first set of results now being published
in The Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery,
and Psychiatry.
We found that in comparison to a control group,
the retired professional ice hockey players were free
of significant impairment on tests of mental
and cognitive function.
However, subjective reports in the alumni indicated
a high level of behavioural, cognitive and
emotional problems in comparison to the control
group.
We focused on retired professional ice hockey
players' cognitive and mental function in
relation to age, concussion history and genetic
risk.
The professional athletes were compared to
an age-match group of controls, subjects with
no history of participation in high-level
contact sports and no history of significant
concussions.
All the participants completed a lengthy battery
of neuropsychological paper and pencil tasks,
as well as computerized tasks and brain imaging
studies.
They also completed a series of questionnaires
relating to their own experience of cognitive,
behavioural and emotional functioning.
We also collected blood samples from all participants
to look at genetic markers related to cognitive
function and dementia.
We observed that the alumni and comparison
participants performed to a similar level
on measures of attention and memory.
However, the alumni did have a subtle disadvantage
on tests of executive function.
Executive function tests measure higher-level
cognitive processes involved in thinking,
decision-making and control of other mental processes.
This study is really just a snapshot in time
looking at the comparison of two groups.
However, the best way to conduct this research
is longitudinally, which means testing people
over time to look at how their function might
change with age.
We're continuing to recruit participants,
both for the first phase, the initial testing,
as well as the longitudinal follow-up test.
And we're currently preparing papers related
to the brain imaging findings from these participants.
