Mixed martial art athletes demonstrate different brain vital sign profiles compared to matched controls at baseline

Abstract

We investigated objective brain vital signs derived from event-related potentials (ERPs) for mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes and matched controls (N = 24). Brain vital sign scans were acquired from 9 MMA athletes and 15 age-and sex-matched controls. Our analysis specifically compared differences in brain vital signs between MMA athletes and controls at baseline. We predicted that MMA athletes would show significant differences relative to controls due to their ongoing exposure to repetitive head impacts. Participants were scanned to extract three well-established ERPs: N100 for auditory sensation; P300 for basic attention; and N400 for cognitive processing. Scans were verified using automated reports, with N100, P300, and N400 amplitudes and latencies manually identified by a blinded reviewer. Brain vital signs were compared across groups with a Kruskal-Wallis H-test for independent samples, with FDR correction for multiple comparisons. We identified significant differences between MMA athletes and controls. Specifically, there were significant N400 amplitude reductions, indicating that exposure to repetitive head impacts in MMA may be associated with changes in brain function.