Is heading a football linked to a decrease in brain function that can be measured?

Heading in football, which is when players hit the ball with their head, has been linked to a change in the brain’s structure and function that can be seen over two years. Previous studies only looked at the bad effects of football heading at one point in time.

This new study, on the other hand, looked at changes in the brain over two years. The amount of two-year heading exposure was rated as low, average, or high.

The players’ vocal learning and memory were tested, and they also had diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an MRI method, done when they first signed up and again after two years.

DTI describes the brain’s architecture by following the tiny movement of water molecules through the tissue. After two years of heading exposure, the highheading group had higher diff±usivity in frontal white matter regions compared to the baseline test results.

They also had lower orientation dispersion index (a measure of brain organisation) in some brain areas.