Keele Research Feature by British Psychological Society

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Posted on 05 December 2011

KEELE RESEARCH FEATURED BY BRITISH PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Keele research on football heading has been featured by the British Psychological Society on the home page of its website (http://www.bps.org.uk/news/heading-football-and-brain-damage-there-really-problem).

In recent years there have been claims that repeatedly heading a football can cause cumulative damage to the brain that eventually manifests in neuropsychological and other impairments.

Dr Andrew Rutherford, School of Psychology, who has been researching the possible damage caused by heading for several years and has published a number of articles on this subject, said: "There have long been suggestions that heading the ball in football could have detrimental effects on the brain.

"The old-fashioned footballs that became heavier as they absorbed water certainly made this an issue of concern. However, the quality of many of the initial studies claiming to have identified 'neuropsychological decrements' related to football heading is poor."

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