The SNS Dissertation Award is granted on an annual basis to an SNS member in good standing who is a student in, or an early career graduate of, a psychology doctoral program. The dissertation must have been completed within two years prior to the nomination and the topic must be relevant to sports neuropsychology. Dr. Riegler was recognized for her dissertation entitled,  Understanding the Influence of Sleep, a Modifiable Behavior, in Different Neuropsychological Populations,"  which explored the relations among insufficient sleep in athletes at baseline and its association with symptom reporting and neurocognitive performance at baseline, as well as its association with risk of sport-related concussion and its outcomes. Dr. Riegler found that, following SRC, sleep disturbed athletes reported more overall symptoms, were more likely to be symptomatic, and were marginally more likely to experience clinically significant depression compared to not sleep disturbed athletes. Results of her dissertation research will provide clinicians with information that can be used to better understand the cumulative impact of poor sleep in the context of concussion.  Dr. Riegler received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Neuropsychology from the Pennsylvania State University. Her dissertation chair and mentor was SNS member, Dr. Peter Arnett. Dr. Riegler completed her doctoral internship in the neuropsychology track at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. She joined Princeton Neuropsychology and the Sports Concussion Center of New Jersey in August 2023 as a post-doctoral fellow in neuropsychology. The SNS is delighted to recognize Dr. Riegler’s contributions to sports neuropsychology at the level of her dissertation and looks forward to her future success.

At the 12th Annual Sports Neuropsychology Society Symposium, Dr. Rosemarie Scolaro Moser was presented with a recognition award for her service as President of the Society.

Dr. Kaitlin Riegler and Dr. Bridget Mayer attended the 2024 12th Annual Sports Neuropsychology Society Symposium in Philadelphia and presented our Centers’ latest research studies. Get a good look at their research below.

The staff at Princeton Neuropsychology published the journal article “Sports Neuropsychologists’ Ratings of Clinical Criteria Used to Help Determine Concussion Recovery: A Brief Survey Report” at Oxford Academic’s Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology.

Congratulations to Princeton Neuropsychology at RSM for winning the Town Topics® Readers’ Choice Award for Best Speciality Medicine.

Download the press release here. Princeton, New Jersey. The Sports Concussion Center of New Jersey at RSM Psychology Center (SCCNJ) is pleased to announce the release of the Sports Neuropsychology Society (SNS) official Position Statement in response to the increasing concern of unsupervised baseline and post-concussion neuropsychological testing in youth sports. The Position Statement asserts “…the administration of clinical tests, including computerized concussion baseline testing, should be supervised by a trained healthcare professional. Supervision of test administration by an appropriately trained healthcare professional is necessary when using any neuropsychological test, including those administered by computer, to ensure validity of results and comply with long established test standards and ethical guidelines for practice.” Dr. Rosemarie Scolaro Moser, neuropsychologist and director of SCCNJ, helped to craft the Position Statement, commenting, “Baseline and post-concussion neuropsychological tests measure important brain functions. We are concerned when these tests are given under conditions that are not supervised by health care professionals who are experts in brain-behavior processes.” Dr. Moser serves at the Chair of the SNS Sports Neuropsychology Action and Professional Practice Committee. Neuropsychological tests that are typically used in sports are brief, computerized screening examinations that athletes at the youth, adult, amateur, and professional levels take during the pre-season, before a concussion occurs. For those athletes who sustain a concussion, the tests are re-administered post-injury and the results are compared to pre-injury “baseline” test results. In addition to most professional sports, many high schools, colleges, and local youth community leagues across the country are routinely administering baseline neuropsychological testing. If the tests are not properly administered, the results can be invalid for later comparison or for helping to determine if an athlete has recovered. Dr. Gerry Gioia, president of SNS explained, “As an organization, we want to advocate strongly for best practices for the athletes we serve. Appropriately supervised test administration and interpretation, whether it is a pre-injury baseline test or a post-injury test is essential.” A copy of the complete Position Statement can be found at http://www.sportsneuropsychologysociety.com/resources-and-publications/ The Sports Concussion Center of New Jersey at RSM Psychology Center, located in Princeton, New Jersey, provides comprehensive neuropsychological services, baseline and post-injury testing, and treatment for concussion and traumatic brain injury, working with professional, amateur, young adult and youth athletes, as well as schools, teams, and sports organizations. It’s motto: Love your brain…Love your sport!

An Examination of Parental Concussion Knowledge Across Cultures. Download Poster

Title: Do children with LD and/or ADHD differ at baseline on a pediatric measure used to assess concussion? Authors: Sarah Friedman, PsyD. Sports Concussion Center of New Jersey, Princeton, NJ Rosemarie Scolaro Moser, PhD. Sports Concussion Center of New Jersey, Princeton, NJ Philip Schatz, PhD. Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA Purpose: To examine differences at baseline between children with ADHD and/or LD vs. children with neither ADHD/LD on 1) neurocognitive scores and 2) child- and parent-reported concussion symptoms. Methods: Retrospective data was obtained for 1856 children ages 5-11 who were assessed at baseline using ImPACT Pediatric. Groups were determined based on parent-reported diagnosis of their child at baseline (ADHD and/or LD vs. neither ADHD/LD), and groups were compared on the four factor scores: Sequential Memory, Word Memory, Visual Memory, and Rapid Processing and on parent- and child-reported concussion symptoms using a series of ANOVAs. Results: ANOVAs revealed that children with ADHD/LD performed significantly worse than children without ADHD/LD on Sequential Memory [F(1,1845) = 69.86, p<.001)] and Word Memory [F(1,1853)=10.36, p=.001)]. In contrast, children with ADHD and/or LD performed significantly better on the neurocognitive measures of Visual Memory [(F(1,1845)=4.94, p=.026)] and Rapid Processing [(F(1,1853)=20.35, p<.001). Symptom reporting was significantly greater in the ADHD/LD group for both child (F(1,1853)=30.21, p<.001) and parent (F(1,1853)=34.64, p<.001) reported symptoms. Conclusions: The current study demonstrated differences at baseline in children on neurocognitive performance and concussion symptom reporting based on diagnostic group. Analysis of symptom reporting suggested that children with pre-exiting diagnoses of ADHD and/or LD and their parents may report concussion-like symptoms at baseline, prior to ever experiencing a concussion. This finding reveals clinical implications for interpretation of post-concussion symptoms without a baseline comparison in children with pre-existing diagnoses such as ADHD and/or LD.

Dr. Moser presented research on Gender Differences in Ice Hockey Related Concussions at the ASTM 6th Annual International Symposium on Safety in Ice Hockey in Denver, May 13, 2019.

Raeding Disrodurs: Recognize the Signs We’re Back to School and most parents are happy their lives are returning to a more predictable routine. While homework assignments start to pile up, learning glitches may begin to surface. As students progress through school, reading skills become pivotal to learning new information. Often parents are not aware their child is experiencing a Reading Disorder, sometimes called a Reading Disability. If a child is bright, she or he may be able to compensate or “get by” in the earlier grades by spending extra time studying and working harder than classmates. However, as they get older, the reading demands grow. They can no longer keep up and their grades slip. Parents may think their child is just not working hard enough, or worse yet, is “lazy.” These students can lose interest in school, experience low self-confidence, lack motivation, and dislike reading for “fun.” In 2014, New Jersey adopted the NJ Dyslexia Legislation for the identification and improvement of reading skills in youth, with a specific focus on dyslexia. Dyslexia is a type of reading disorder that can result in difficulties with letter and word reversals, learning sight words, blending letters to make sounds, and sounding out words. In New Jersey schools, dyslexia falls under the category of “Specific Learning Disability,” which allows students to receive reading assistance, such as in the form of a structured literacy program. Such programs include teaching the basic units of sounds called phonemes and learning to join them to form words. Dyslexia may be identified in the early school years when young students experience difficulty with basic reading skills. But, not all students with reading problems experience problems learning to read words. Instead, some students show strengths in basic word reading, sounding out words, and reading aloud. Their difficulties are centered around not understanding what they read and/or being unable to read at a reasonable pace. Their challenges are in reading comprehension, fluency, and speed. Because of their intact basic reading skills, they may not be identified as having reading problems until the later school years. Parents should recognize possible signs of a reading disorder: below average reading level, difficulty recognizing words, avoidance of reading, declining grades, starting, stopping, and pausing frequently when reading aloud, difficulty completing homework and tests, and dislike of school. Early identification of a reading disorder is key to preserving a student’s positive attitude about learning and about herself/himself. If you suspect your child may have a reading problem, notify your child’s teacher and pediatrician, and seek a comprehensive educational evaluation by a qualified licensed or certified professional who specializes in learning and reading disorders. By Rosemarie Scolaro Moser, PhD, ABN, ABPP-RP, neuropsychologist/school psychologist, and director of RSM Psychology Center, LLC in Princeton.