Key Takeaways

Heading a soccer ball appears linked to brain changes and poorer cognitive skillsPlayers who headed most often had more disruptions to white matter in the folds of their brainsThese players did worse on thinking and memory tests

MONDAY, Sept. 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — “Heading” the ball might affect amateur soccer players’ brain health, a new study says.

Players who used their heads to pass or deflect a soccer ball were more likely to develop changes within the folds of their brains, researchers reported Sept. 17 in the journal Neurology . These folds are in the wrinkly outer area of the brain called the cerebral cortex .

Athletes with more of these brain changes performed worse on cognitive tests, researchers said.

“People who experienced more impacts from headers

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