baseline neurocognitive testing

Outsmarting or "sandbagging" a baseline neuropsychological test is much harder than an athlete may think, say two recent studies, because they are programmed to automatically "flag" test protocols that seem suspicious.

Along with studies reporting high concussion rates, increased concussion awareness among athletes, parents, coaches and health care providers, and new state concussion safety laws has come rapid growth in the use of computerized neuropsychological testing in evaluating and managing sports concussions, particularly at the college and high school levels. The problem, says sports concussion neuropsychologist, Rosemarie Scolaro Moser, Ph. D, is that obtaining a valid baseline test result can be a challenge, especially for youth athletes.