The results of this systematic review identify the consistent and prevalent indicators of concussion and their associations , derived from the strongest evidence in the published literature .
BACKGROUND Currently , there is no evidence -based definition for concussion that is being uniformly applied in clinical and research setting s. OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review of the highest- quality literature about concussion and to assemble evidence about the prevalence and associations of key indicators of concussion .
The goal was to establish an evidence -based foundation from which to derive , in future work , a definition , diagnostic criteria , and prognostic indicators for concussion .
Mild traumatic brain injury and executive functions in school-aged children
Objective : This study sought to examine the effects of mild traumatic brain injury ( TBI ) on executive functions in school-aged children . Participants and method : The prospect i ve , longitudinal study involved 8–15 year old children , 186 with mild TBI and 99 with mild orthopaedic injuries ( OI ) . They were administered the Stockings of Cambridge and Spatial Working Memory sub-tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery ( CANTAB ) ∼10 days , 3 months and 12 months post-injury . Parents completed the  Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions ( BRIEF ) on each occasion , with ratings at the initial assessment intended to assess pre-morbid functioning retrospectively . Results : On the CANTAB , the groups did not differ on the Stockings of Cambridge and the mild TBI group unexpectedly performed better than the OI group on Spatial Working Memory . On the BRIEF , children with mild TBI showed a marginally significant trend toward more problems than the OI group on the Metacognition Index composite . The only BRIEF sub-scale on which they demonstrated significantly more problems was Organization of Material s. The presence of intracranial abnormalities on MRI was associated with more problems on the BRIEF Organization of Material s sub-scale at 3 months , but other findings were not consistent with hypothesized effects of TBI severity . The CANTAB sub-tests were significant predictors of later ratings on the BRIEF , but accounted for modest variance . Discussion : Children with mild TBI show limited evidence of deficits in executive functions , either cognitively or behaviourally , irrespective of injury characteristics . Cognitive tests of executive functions are modest predictors of ratings of executive functions in everyday life , for children both with and without mild TBI
The results of this systematic review identify the consistent and prevalent indicators of concussion and their associations , derived from the strongest evidence in the published literature .
BACKGROUND Currently , there is no evidence -based definition for concussion that is being uniformly applied in clinical and research setting s. OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review of the highest- quality literature about concussion and to assemble evidence about the prevalence and associations of key indicators of concussion .
The goal was to establish an evidence -based foundation from which to derive , in future work , a definition , diagnostic criteria , and prognostic indicators for concussion .