Eye Movement Tests Uncover Hidden Brain Changes Years After Concussion

Mild traumatic brain injury, or concussion, can leave subtle cognitive effects that evade evaluation. Lingering problems with attention, processing speed, and impulse control complicate long‑term care. Researchers now report that specialized eye‑movement assessments can reveal these changes more than a decade after apparent recovery.

Investigators at the CU Anschutz Marcus Institute for Brain Health (Aurora, CO, USA) used cognitively challenging eye‑movement testing to probe brain networks for attention, information processing, and decision‑making. Tasks included looking away from a visual target and rapid visual recognition with verbalization. The team is at CU Anschutz School of Medicine.

The study evaluated 78 military veterans, 38 with a history of mild traumatic brain injury and 40 without. Participants completed eye‑movement tasks and cognitive tests measuring executive function. Those with prior concussions showed slower, less accurate eye movements and reduced performance on attention‑based measures, with some differences detectable more than 10 years after injury.

Eye‑movement control depends on neural circuits, so mild injuries may leave lasting but hard‑to‑detect effects. Because magnetic resonance imaging often looks normal after mild injury, these assessments could provide an objective complement for follow‑up and rehabilitation planning. The findings appeared in the Journal of Neuro‑Ophthalmology in 2026, and future work will test routine clinical use.

"The eyes are directly connected to brain networks that control attention, information processing, and decision-making," said Jeffrey Hebert, Ph.D., PT, associate professor at the CU Anschutz School of Medicine and director of research for the CU Anschutz Marcus Institute for Brain Health. "By studying how someone's eyes move during a cognitively demanding task, we can detect subtle brain changes that might not appear on a standard bedside exam or brain scan."

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CU Anschutz Marcus Institute for Brain Health