Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/897616
Bulletin vol. 31 no. 2 | 5 Editor's Corner As the Editor of the NAN Bulletin, I am delighted share our latest issue with you, where we focus on sports-related concussion. Sports-related concussion has garnered tremendous interest in the popular media of late, especially regarding some recent findings on repetitive head impacts in American Football associated with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Of greater significance for readers of the Bulletin, clinical neuropsychologists have played an increasingly important role in the sports concussion landscape. I first began studying sports concussion in earnest in the early 2000s, after taking over the management of the Penn State Neuropsychology of Sports Concussion Program that was initially developed by Drs. Ruben Echemendia and Margot Putukian in the 1990s. So the focus of our current issue is of particular interest to me. We have much to offer you in this issue to help update your knowledge of some core issues in the neuropsychology of sports concussion. In the Professional Issues section of this Bulletin, there are five articles that address core issues of interest in sports-related concussion. Tracey Covassin and her colleagues start out this section with a brief review of the current status of our knowledge of sex differences in sports-related concussion. Victoria Merritt and Nicole Evangelista follow this with an incisive review of some recent data on genetic factors that may predict recovery and outcome following sports-related concussion. Two of my current students (Erin Guty and Megan Bradson) and I then discuss the importance of assessing depression in sports concussion evaluations, and provide some guidelines for how this could be done clinically. Melissa Womble and Micky Collins then provide a succinct and compelling discussion about the benefits of regulation versus rest in addressing post-traumatic migraine following concussion. Finally, Michael Alosco, Megan Mariani, and Robert Stern provide a timely review of CTE, offering an even-handed discussion of a topic that is often sensationalized in the popular media. The Student Corner section of the Bulletin includes a discussion by Erin Guty, a graduate student who currently works as the coordinator of the neuropsychology of sports concussion program at Penn State. She provides some telling insights about what it is like to run this program, and discusses how her research interests in sports concussion evolved out of her clinical work. Finally, John Randolph provides an astute review of a recent Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology article by Higgins and colleagues focusing on sandbagging performance on the ImPACT. Of note, Dr. John Randolph has continued to serve as Associate Editor of the Bulletin, and was instrumental in working with me on completing this issue. We also appreciate the continued help from the members of the NAN Publications Committee, especially the chair of this committee, Dr. Lee Ashendorf, who provided valuable input on the contributions to this issue. Peter Arnett, Ph.D. Professor & Director of the Neuropsychology of Sports Concussion and MS Programs at Penn State University NAN Bulletin Editor Opinions expressed by the authors and advertisers do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Academy of Neuropsychology. Peter Arnett, Ph.D., NAN Bulletin Editor