MRI Infographic

Brain Differences In Contact v. Non-Contact Athletes

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DR. NICHOLAS PORT'S MRI CONCUSSION STUDY

This is an MRI of the human brain. The highlighted area is the heart of the visual cortex, which is where we process visual information so we can see.

This area is the cerebellum, which is responsible for smooth eye movements and balance.

Overall, there are significantly more active areas in Brain A than Brain B.

These highlighted sections show areas of two brains that were active during a simple eye movement task.

Toggle Scans

Brain B

Brain A

But why is there this difference?

Cross-country Runner

Football Player

In particular, the cerebellum of the football player is significantly more active.

This is because Brain A belongs to a football player and Brain B belongs to a cross-country runner.

The visual cortex then has to compensate for this by working harder and recruiting the cerebellum to help.

One possible interpretation is that the brain of the football player has been damaged by repeated small impacts to the head.

This means the parts of their brain associated with vision are more developed. It then appears more active on the brain scans.

Another potential interpretation is that football players spend more time developing their hand-eye coordination.

MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED

To discover which explanation is more accurate