October 27, 2016.
According to a study carried out by a team of researchers from the Scottish University of Stirling, the head game in football could seriously damage the brain and especially memory.
The blow seriously affects memory
Kicking a soccer ball with the head could seriously affect memory. This is in any case what reveals a study published in the journal EBioMedicine. To reach this conclusion, the Scottish researchers asked 19 footballers to achieve a streak of twenty heads by catching a ball sent with the power of a shot from the corner point.
As a result, the memory capacities of these players were reduced by 41 to 67% during the 24 hours following a game session. ” We noticed, just after this session of head shots, a decrease in cerebral functions and memory capacities in these subjects. », Analyzed Dr Magdalena Ietswaart, a neuroscientist who participated in the study, at the microphones of the BBC.
A link between head play and brain damage
What worries researchers is the fact that these blows could damage the brain in the long run. ” Although these conditions are temporary and limited in time, we believe they can affect the brain in the long term. Added Dr Magdalena Ietswaart.
And this is not the first time that this link is made between head play and brain damage. Last May, the English Football Federation announced that it was authorizing the opening of a study on the subject. at issue: the death in 2002 of Jeff Astle, a former West Bromwich Albion striker. The autopsy concluded in death from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
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