Abstract
Neurocognitive testing has garnered great attention in recent years as an assessment tool to prevent, screen, and/or identify individuals with executive function deficits as well as injury proneness. Neurocognitive assessment tools (NCATs) have been shown to recognize deficits in neurocognitive functions such as processing speeds, working memory, visual memory, and reaction times. These deficits may be linked to an inability to focus attention, generate appropriate movement commands, and minimize sensorimotor errors through feedback mechanisms. During physical activities, neuromuscular control intensifies the brain’s cognitive load. As a result, impaired or lower levels of neurocognitive functioning may lead to altered movement strategies, compromising musculoskeletal structures and increasing an individual’s risk for injury. As such, a wide variety of valid and reliable NCATs can be utilized as part of broader strategy in research and clinical practice as means to identify injury proneness or risk through computerized and portable testing. In addition to identifying injury proneness, neurocognitive testing may be utilized to track improvements in executive function, potentially lowering an individual’s risk for injury through heightened neurocognitive and sensorimotor function.
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Hunzinger, K.J., Swanik, C.B. (2019). Neurocognitive Testing. In: Noyes, F., Barber-Westin, S. (eds) Return to Sport after ACL Reconstruction and Other Knee Operations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22361-8_22
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