The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study involved 28 high-school athletes with concussions and 13 age-matched controls. The athletes with concussions underwent fMRI evaluation within approximately one week of injury and then again when they met criteria for clinical recovery.

During their fMRI exams, the athletes were given working memory tasks to complete while the brain’s activity was observed and recorded.

As a group, athletes who demonstrated the greatest degree of hyperactivation at the time of their first fMRI scan also demonstrated a more prolonged clinical recovery than did athletes who demonstrated less hyperactivation during their first fMRI scan, found the study published in Neurosurgery.

Using fMRI, the functioning of a network of brain regions is significantly associated with both the severity of concussion symptoms and time to recover, said study co-author Jamie Pardini, a neuropsychologist.