HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Given the nature of contact sports, it is no surprise that the players involved are more susceptible to traumatic brain injuries, such as concussion. But new research among college football players recently published in JAMA finds that those with such head injuries and those who have been playing football for many years are more likely to have smaller brain volumes in the area of the hippocampus than players who have fewer years of football-playing experience. The hippocampus is a brain region involved in regulating emotion and forming, storing and processing memories. According to the background of the study, the hippocampus is particularly vulnerable to moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).