Studies New diagnostic method for concussion in children

More effective diagnosis of concussion results in greatly improved recovery
Especially in children, heavy falls or sports accidents are often the cause of a concussion. In some sports, for example, scissors collisions can trigger such. Researchers now found a new way to improve the diagnosis of such a head injury. A clear pattern in the auditory response of children may indicate a concussion.

Researchers at Northwestern University's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory found that a biological marker in the auditory system of the brain may be an indication of concussion. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Nature, Scientific Reports".

Determining a concussion is usually a difficult task. Physicians have now developed a new form for diagnosing concussion in children. (Image: jörn buchheim / fotolia.com)

Biomarkers could lead to more effective diagnosis of concussions
The newly discovered biomarker could eliminate ambiguity in a diagnosis of concussion. Thus, diagnosis and recovery can be greatly improved, explains author Nina Kraus. It is to be hoped that this discovery will enable physicians, parents, physical education teachers and sports coaches to detect concussions more quickly.

Concussion are hard to determine
Especially in professional sports and youth sports programs, the incidence of concussion in recent years has attracted widespread media attention, the authors explain. Nevertheless, concussions are still difficult to diagnose.

Physicians examine brain response to sounds
For the current study, the researchers studied forty children with a concussion. In addition, there was a control group of children without a concussion. The scientists used three sensors at the children's head to measure the frequency of a reaction, which is the brain's automatic electrical response to noise.

New method assessed 90 percent of concussions in the test
With this new method, physicians successfully identified 90 percent of children with a concussion. In the control group, 95 percent of children were found by the test to have no concussion, the researchers explain.

Children with concussion react differently to certain sounds
Researchers found that, on average, children with a concussion have a 35 percent lower response to certain pitches. So the team could create a kind of neural profile. The study also found that when the children had recovered from their concussion, they were able to process pitches normally, the experts add.

Classification of sounds is a complex task for the human brain
The brain is needed to properly classify sounds, say the authors. This is one of the most complex tasks that the human brain is capable of. For this reason, it is not surprising that severe shocks or blows on the head disturb this delicate machinery, the researchers explain further.

Physicians want to create effective platform for the diagnosis of concussions
The goal should be to create a reliable, objective, portable, easy-to-use, readily available and affordable platform for diagnosing concussion, the researchers explain. (As)