ABSTRACT
What role should the neuropsychologist have in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of sports-related concussions? This question is the focus of this special issue on sports-related concussions. I believe this to be a timely topic, as reports show mild traumatic brain injuries in multiple sports to be a consistently increasing trend over the past several years (e.g., Fall Sports Injury Research, 2002). Much attention has been given to the study of sports-related concussions, and great strides have been made in understanding this health concern, including the cultivation of neuropsychological assessment tools to diagnose concussions and the refinement of recovery curves after injury. Concussion injuries are now thought of as significant neuropsychological events with very real long-term consequences (Zillmer & Spiers, 2001). Nevertheless, many issues related to the diagnosis, assessment, and management of concussions are akin to putting a complex puzzle together:
What is the effect of age and gender in concussions?
What neuropsychological tests are best suited to assess concussions?
What is the gold standard for grading concussions?
What return-to-play guidelines are most practical?
