CSU, Chico News

The Pacific-Cascade Psychological Association (PCPA) will present Dr. David Lechuga, neuropsychologist and president of the California Psychological Association at their first fall meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 20. His lecture is titled “Use of Neuropsychological Testing to Prevent Complications Associated with Sports-Related Concussions in High School Athletes.”

The event will be held at the Enloe Conference Center, the Esplanade and 5th Avenue, at 7:30 p.m.

The Department of Psychology, California State University, Chico, Enloe Medical Center, Enloe Behavioral Health Unit and the California Psychological Association are co-sponsoring Lechuga’s talk.

The subject is appropriate for physicians, nurses, school administrators, coaches and athletic trainers, as well as counselors.

Over the past 10 years, there has been a greater awareness of the need to improve concussion management approaches, particularly for the younger athlete. Dr. Lechuga will talk about the use of neuropsychological testing as part of a return-to-play (RTP) process. “With neuropsychological testing,” said Lechuga, “athletes are compared to their own pre-concussion baselines, allowing for more objective decision making. Including such testing in the overall process prevents more serious post-concussion conditions, such as Second Impact Syndrome (SIS).”

Lechuga said that athletic programs which involve neuropsychological testing as part of an overall RTP strategy are viewed as safer. “This can only be reassuring to the athletes, their families, school administrators, coaches, athletic trainers and sports medicine physicians,” said Lechuga.

For more information, call Beverly J. Ford at 530-898-4645 or Marv Megibow at 530-343-2075. You can also e-mail at either bford@csuchico.edu or mmegibow@csuchico.edu.

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 9th, 2005 at 8:30 am and is filed under 2005 Fall.