Hit-em Again      
       

Our high school cheerleaders led us in the chant...

Hit-em again, hit-em again, harder, harder...

   While we look forward to another college football season, safe in our recliner, Science Advances is yanking the ball away, as in, Lucy betraying Charlie Brown. 

   A study suggests playing just one season of college football, even without a concussion, can result in brain damage. There may not be visible signs, but long-term brain health is in question.

   Researchers placed special instruments in the helmets of 38 players at the 
U. of Rochester to track the number and force of hits during practices and games. They took MRI scans of players' brains before and after three consecutive football seasons. 

Hit-em again...  

   Only two players had a concussion, but more than two-thirds showed significant damage to mid-brain white matter - after only one season. Hits that knocked the head from side to side or front to back caused greater damage than a head-on impact.

   Scientists looked specifically at the mid-brain, which controls functions often affected by concussions such as visual tracking, balance and auditory [hearing] processing. No matter where the brain receives a blow, the force travels to the central region.  

Harder, harder...
   The main author of the study likened the mid-brain to the "canary in the coal mine for the whole brain." 

   Big-time college, and for sure NFL, competition, must be more violent than at the Rochester level, even with helmet improvements. There are positive benefits for most college players who sacrifice and mature during those years, but the price...? 

   We never played organized, tackle football. So, what's my excuse?  😦

       Jimmy