The Impact of Concussion on Processing Speed and Attention in Athletes: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The present study investigated if concussions would be associated with decreases in cognitive performance, especially attention and processing speed. A systematic review of the literature was conducted in the PubMed, PsycInfo and ScienceDirect databases. The aim of this review is to ascertain the quality of the evidence in parallel with seeking a convergent answer to the guiding research question. The results showed that attention and processing speed are compromised at least one week after the concussion occurs. However, two problems were indicated by the judges: the heterogeneity of the instruments used in the studies, and the bias of the results, given that most of them did not use blind data collection or blind compilation of the results of the evaluations. Although solid evidence was found, further meta-analyses will be needed to increase homogeneity and validity, and ensure the size of the effect of concussion on the cognitive functions of athletes.