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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 July 2025
Background: Over 1.3 million people in North America participate in tackle football annually. Football players experience a disproportionately higher risk for repetitive non-concussive impacts (NCIs) compared to other high-contact sports athletes. Quantifying how this exposure influences a player’s cognitive function is imperative. While NCIs share the same mechanism as concussions, they do not elicit immediate symptoms. Methods: This study tracked impact exposure in 13 male Queen’s Varsity Football players using six-axis mouthguard accelerometers throughout the season. Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings were conducted at two time points (pre-season and post-season) to measure event-related potentials (ERPs), evaluating auditory sensation, basic attention, and cognitive processing. Results: Analysis of pre- and post-season EEGs revealed group differences in N100 and N400 wave amplitudes but found no correlation between impact exposure metrics (including varying magnitudes, frequencies, and linear and angular accelerations) and deficits in attention or cognitive processing. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a single season of football-related NCIs may not be sufficient to produce detectable changes in cognitive function as measured through ERPs, despite the variation in impact exposure. Further longitudinal studies spanning multiple seasons and additional neurophysiological measures may be necessary to fully understand the cumulative effects of NCIs on cognitive function in football players.