What a Lifetime of Playing Football Can Do to the Human Brain

Based on the article written by Brian Resnick, which statement would he agree with?

• The injuries incurred playing football have been well-managed by the medical community, NFL, and fans

• Parents should feel secure with letting their young children play tackle football.

• CTE is not likely to occur if a player is repeated hit over and over again.

• Football is a sport that should be approached with caution because it is highly likely one can get CTE.

What is the topic of the paragraph?

Doctors have learned a tremendous amount about concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative1 brain condition believed to be caused by repeated hits to the head, since the first former NFL player was diagnosed with CTE in the early 2000s. Concern around the issue has only grown now that more than 100 former NFL players have received a postmortem2 diagnosis of CTE, and new research is finding that youth football may be a risk factor for CTE down the line.

• The method used by doctors to treat CTE.

• Describes CTE, its discovery and how it a problem that is now getting more attention.

• Describes how NFL players are diagnosed when they are dead

• The biggest concern is how CTE can impact young players.

Which detail proves that the majority of NFL have CTE?

Of the 202 brains, 177, or nearly 90 percent, were diagnosed with CTE. And there was a pattern: Those who had played football longer were more likely to have worse brain damage. Among the former NFL players in the sample, 99 percent had CTE. This suggests the effects of brain trauma on CTE are cumulative. The more trauma over a longer period, the worse the symptoms.

• Of the 202 brains, 177, or nearly 90 percent, were diagnosed with CTE. And there was a pattern

• Those who had played football longer were more likely to have worse brain damage.

• Among the former NFL players in the sample, 99 percent had CTE.

• The more trauma over a longer period, the worse the symptoms.

What is the central idea of this paragraph?

A 2015 study found that former NFL players who began football before age 12 fared worse on cognitive assessments than those who started later in their teens. And this held true even controlling for number of years played

• NFL players, who started before age 12, demonstrate no loss in their intelligence

• NFL players, who started playing football before age 12, demonstrated a loss in intelligence.

• If you start playing at a younger age, you will become disabled.

• This study shows that playing foot ball at a young age leads to an increase in intelligence.

Which detail does not need to be included in a summary of this text by Brian Resnick?

• Celebrities like Barack Obama is against kids playing football.

• CTE was discovered with the help 100 NFL players who allowed their brains to be autopsied.

• CTE is caused by repeated hits to the head.

• The hits cause tau protein to clump together, and that blocks the flow of information.