Behavioural brain research
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Observations of hyperactive (/restless, agitated) behaviour as a consequence of mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) in sports are inconclusive as reduced or slowed movement behaviour is also commonly described post-concussion. This might be grounded in the fact that the movement behaviour of athletes has not been systematically investigated during standardized settings and with objective methods of nonverbal movement analysis. Thus, we investigate whether symptoms after mTBI in sports are characterized by a hyper- or hypoactive movement behaviour experimentally. ⋯ Athletes with increased symptoms after mTBI move their hands in a hyperactive and restless manner. Increased act apart hand movements, i.e., when both hands move simultaneously without touching each other, indicate a motoric destabilization in symptomatic athletes' behaviour that might be related to impaired inhibitory motor control systems. Future diagnoses should concern the systematic analysis of the nonverbal movement behaviour as a potential behavioural marker of symptoms after mTBI.