Distraction and Top-Down Attentional Control After Adolescent Concussion

Abstract

Increased distractibility is frequently reported by patients with concussion, a functional brain injury characterized by diminished executive control. However, laboratory-based measures of attention are underutilized in this context. This study paired a well-established behavioral distraction measure with functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate attentional allocation and its underlying neural mechanisms in adolescent concussion patients and healthy controls. Although no significant behavioral differences were observed between groups, trends in the fNIRS data indicate that case participants require additional attentional control resources to produce comparable behavioral results to controls. Moreover, our findings highlight the need for continued study employing laboratory-based measures without heavy reliance on patient self-reported symptom severity.