Although the convergent validity of ImPACT was supported , evidence of discriminant and predictive validity , diagnostic accuracy and responsiveness was inconclusive .
The review found many factors influenced the validity and utility of ImPACT scores .
Background The immediate post concussion assessment and cognitive testing ( ImPACT ) is the most widely used concussion assessment tool .
Despite its popularity , it is unclear if validation studies for the ImPACT test covered all aspects of validity to support its widespread use in research and clinical practice .
Objective The purpose of this report is to review literature surrounding the validity and the utility of the ImPACT test .
Cognitive effects of one season of head impacts in a cohort of collegiate contact sport athletes
Objective : To determine whether exposure to repetitive head impacts over a single season negatively affects cognitive performance in collegiate contact sport athletes . Methods : This is a prospect i ve cohort study at 3 Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association athletic programs . Participants were 214 Division I college varsity football and ice hockey players who wore instrumented helmets that recorded the acceleration-time history of the head following impact , and 45 noncontact sport athletes . All athletes were assessed prior to and shortly after the season with a  cognitive screening battery ( ImPACT ) and a subgroup of athletes also were assessed with 7 measures from a neuropsychological test battery . Results : Few cognitive differences were found between the athlete groups at the preseason or postseason assessment s. However , a higher percentage of the contact sport athletes performed more poorly than predicted postseason on a measure of new learning ( California Verbal Learning Test ) compared to the noncontact athletes ( 24 % vs 3.6 % ; p < 0.006 ) . On 2 postseason cognitive measures ( ImPACT Reaction Time and Trails 4/B ) , poorer performance was significantly associated with higher scores on several head impact exposure metrics . Conclusion : Repetitive head impacts over the course of a single season may negatively impact learning in some collegiate athletes . Further work is needed to assess whether such effects are short term or persistent
Although the convergent validity of ImPACT was supported , evidence of discriminant and predictive validity , diagnostic accuracy and responsiveness was inconclusive .
The review found many factors influenced the validity and utility of ImPACT scores .
Background The immediate post concussion assessment and cognitive testing ( ImPACT ) is the most widely used concussion assessment tool .
Despite its popularity , it is unclear if validation studies for the ImPACT test covered all aspects of validity to support its widespread use in research and clinical practice .
Objective The purpose of this report is to review literature surrounding the validity and the utility of the ImPACT test .