AT your next football game, think hard before you decide to
score a spectacular goal with a diving header.
A Scottish researcher has found that heading a football may cause
brain damage, even if the player is an amateur who plays only on
weekends.
Psychologist Douglas Potter, a senior lecturer at Dundee
University, said that he noticed brainwave changes even in those
who have played the game for less than five years.
Football players were also found to be less aware of incidents that
happen on the edge of their visions, which could be crucial in
situations such as driving, reported the Daily Record.
Dr Potter looked at three groups of men in their 20s - footballers,
rugby players and non-contact sports players - and measured their
ability to focus by monitoring their brainwaves with electrodes
stuck to their scalps.
HARD TO FOCUS
'The region of the brain involved is in the middle top part of the
head, the medial pre-frontal cortex, which would be the region
footballers are heading with,' Dr Potter explained.
The study revealed that football players and rugby players found it
harder to focus on specific tasks.
The English Football Association and the Professional Footballers'
Association are currently conducting a 10-year study into how
heading a ball can affect the brain.
