Exploring Oculomotor Trends in Collegiate Athletes

Authors

Brett Whorley, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Julie A. Honaker, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

4-2016

Document Type

Poster

Citation

Whorley, B., Honaker, J.A., Exploring Oculomotor Trends in Collegiate Athletes. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dizziness and Balance Disorders Lab, Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior. April, 2016. Spring 2016 Research Fair poster.

Comments

Copyright (c) 2016 Brett A. Whorley & Julie A. Honaker

Abstract

Collaborative efforts to improve athlete safety without significantly hindering the rules of the games aim to develop a novel system to better measure and diagnose concussions. Provided that common signs of concussions include blurred vision, distant gaze, and dizziness, the Dizziness and Balance Disorders Lab at UNL believes that the simple oculomotor exam studied in this project may be applied to this procedure. Within the broader goal to better understand the causes, signs, symptoms, and prognosis of concussions, researchers desired to further investigate the results of this oculomotor test. The aim was to identify and interpret correlations between collegiate athlete performance on an oculomotor exam and a phenomenon known as reset saccades experienced during the task. It was determined that prior diagnosed head injuries and inner ear problems may not be a significant saccadic predictor among athletes, however the small sample size may have affected the results and comparisons should be done with a non-athlete group to investigate differences between the patient groupings.