Progress in Sports Neuropsychology

Abstract

Sports Neuropsychology: Assessment and Management of Traumatic Brain Injury . Ruben J. Echemendia (Ed.). 2006. New York: The Guilford Press, 324 pp., $45.00 (HB). Sports Neuropsychology: Assessment and Management of Traumatic Brain Injury , edited by Ruben J. Echemendia, brings together a variety of experts in the area of sports concussion, in an effort to introduce psychologists and neuropsychologists to the rapidly developing area of sports neuropsychology. The book is organized into five parts. Part I, Sports Neuropsychology in Context , outlines the historical context for the development of sports neuropsychology as a professional endeavor. Chapter 1 (Barth, Broshek, and Freeman), introduces the readers to a number of important definitions that are used throughout the book, including concussion, post-concussion syndrome, second-impact syndrome, and the system of grading concussion severity. Importantly, Barth, a pioneer in the study of sports-related concussion, describes his early efforts at the University of Virginia using pre- and posttrauma assessment with the Sports as a Laboratory Assessment Model (SLAM)—a method of examining concussion in a controlled environment, which has become a standard for current practice. Chapter 2 (Zillmer, Schneider, Tinker, and Kamineris) provides a fascinating historical account of sports-related injuries, dating from the 8th century B.C. (ancient Olympic games) to the present. Their account chronicles the medical and behavioral assessment of head trauma (beginning with Hippocrates, who wrote extensively about head injury), to the modern-day three-tiered grading system introduced by Cantu ( 1986 ) and the American Academy of Neurology ( 1997 ), and provides a unique perspective on how neuropsychologists have come to play such a critical role in sports medicine. Chapter 3 (Echemendia) takes on the important task of highlighting the potential pitfalls inherent in consulting with athletes, including those at the collegiate and professional levels. Echemendia directly confronts the different “rules” associated with athletic consultation (e.g., flexibility of scheduling, dealing with the media) and challenges psychologists to examine their motivation for pursuing this type of specialty practice (i.e., the need to be around “celebrities”). The chapter even describes the down side of sports neuropsychology practice, including not being treated with the same level of professional respect that they are accustomed to receiving from their clients.