Academics

Semyon Slobounov publishes book on concussions in athletics

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Semyon (Sam) Slobounov, professor of kinesiology and neurosurgery at Penn State, has published a book titled "Concussions in Athletics: From Brain to Behavior." The book offers state-of-the-art clinical guidance on diagnosing and treating concussion, the latest research findings and implications written by an international panel of experts and advanced brain imaging findings to delineate the hidden symptoms of concussion.The book -- which Slobounov edited with Wayne Sebastianelli, Kalanek Professor in Orthopedics and director of athletic medicine at Penn State -- was published on March 7."Concussion in athletics is a growing public health concern with increased attention focusing on treatment and management of this puzzling epidemic," Slobounov said. "Despite the increasing occurrence and prevalence of concussions in athletics, there is no universally accepted definition, or 'gold standard,' for its assessment."According to Slobounov, the new book provides a range of major findings that may shed important light on current controversy within the field. It is a reference that will be of significant interest to a wide range of clinicians, researchers, administrators, and policy makers.Slobounov conducts basic brain science research with specific focus on neural substrates of human movement both in normal and pathological populations. His clinical research focuses on sports-related traumatic brain injuries using advanced virtual reality and brain imaging tools, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG).

Slobounov joined the faculty of the Department of Kinesiology at Penn State as an assistant professor in 1994. He became a full professor in the department in 2007. Prior to coming to Penn State, he was the director and head of the Sport Psychology Department of Moscow (USSR) Scientific Research Institute of Physical Culture and before that he was the USSR National Head Olympic Diving Coach from 1982-86.

He earned a bachelor's degree at Azerbaidjan State Institute of Physical Culture in 1973, a doctorate degree at the University of Leningrad in 1978 and doctorate degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1994.

More information about the book is available at http://www.springer.com/medicine/internal/book/978-1-4939-0294-1.

Semyon (Sam) Slobounov, professor of kinesiology and neurosurgery at Penn State, has published a book, titled "Concussions in Athletics: From Brain to Behavior." Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated January 9, 2015

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