One season of football increases risk of brain injury

School-aged football players are at an increased risk of long-term effects in the brain after just one season of play, according to new research. Two new studies conducted on children aged nine to 17 found changes in the area of the brain known as the default mode network (DMN), which is active while a person's mind is wandering and responsible for processing emotions. The effects were seen in both players with and without a history of concussion, but were even greater in those who had suffered at least one in the past. This study adds to the mounting evidence that concussions due to football lead to serious changes in the brain including multiple sclerosis, impaired emotions, depression and most popularly CTE, which was found in former professional football player Aaron Hernandez. The studies conducted at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, used Head Impact Telemetry System (HITS) helmets on players with and without a history of concussion for an entire season.