“We were hoping to assemble neuroimaging data around concussion in kids to inform our research – instead we were surprised to find big gaps,” said Dr. Julia Schmidt, a post-doctoral fellow with Drs. Lara Boyd and Jill Zwicker. “Despite the prevalence and urgency of concussion, there were very few studies that looked at brain differences post-injury in children specifically.”
A systematic review, published this month in the journal Pediatrics, found that pediatric concussion is common but poorly understood, and points to new opportunities for research.
Concussion affects children differently than adults. Children may be more vulnerable to a concussive injury with the potential to disturb the brain’s maturation process; symptoms of brain injury can affect a child’s day-to-day life, impacting their learning and social development. It can also take children longer to recover.
