There is societal concern about the later-in-life brain health of men who played football at any level, from youth to professional. This concern has evolved, widened, and amplified over the past 10 years and now encompasses men and women who participated in any contact (e.g., soccer and ice hockey) or collision (e.g., rugby) sport. There is also concern about the later-in-life brain health of high-exposure military service members and veterans, such as those who served or are serving in the United States Special Operations Command. Their lifetime exposure to mild neurotrauma has been through participation in sports, military training, blunt force trauma, and repetitive low-level blasts via explosive breaching and heavy weapons.

This presentation reviews cohort studies relating to mental health problems and neurological diseases in former amateur and professional athletes. In addition, the presentation focuses on chronic traumatic encephalopathy neuropathologic change and traumatic encephalopathy syndrome, with an emphasis on knowledge gaps and directions for future research.

Dr. Grant L. Iverson is a sports neuropsychologist at Mass General Brigham Spaulding Rehabilitation and Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. He is the Director of the Concussion Research Program for the Schoen Adams Research Institute at Spaulding Rehabilitation. He is also the Director of the Sports Concussion Program at Mass General for Children. Dr. Iverson is a leading proponent of a biopsychosocial model for conceptualizing both good and poor outcomes from mild traumatic brain injury in athletes, civilians, active-duty military service members, and veterans. He has published more than 625 articles, reviews, and book chapters.

Dr. Iverson served as a consensus panel member for the 3^rd (2008), 4^th (2012), 5^th (2016), and 6^th (2023) International Conferences on Concussion in Sport. He also served as a founding member of the Traumatic Brain Injury Subcommittee of the Defense Health Board, a chartered civilian advisory board to the United States Secretary of Defense (2008–2011). He served as the President of the National Academy of Neuropsychology in 2015, and as a member of the Board of Governors from 2014 to 2018. He was awarded the Levin Distinguished Career Award by the Sports Neuropsychology Society (2024).