Madison Ceola Headshot
Author: Madison Ceola | Majors: Exercise Science & Chemistry | Semester: Fall 2022
My name is Madison Ceola and I am a recent graduate of the College of Education and Health Professions honors program and the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. In December 2022, I received my Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. I have spent the last year researching concussion under Dr. Elbin in the Office of Sport Concussion, and I plan to continue doing research while completing my Master of Science in Exercise Science here at Arkansas.
My thesis topic focused on whether physical fatigue via a bicycling protocol creates vestibular and ocular motor concussion symptoms in non-concussed individuals of high and low fitness in the effort of improving knowledge on concussion treatment and recovery. Understanding this is important to providing the best outcomes following brain injury, as symptom provocation and exercise tolerance are necessary for recovering and allowing individuals to return to their sports, work, school, and other activities.
My interest in concussion dates back to high school, when a recruiter from the University of Arkansas came to my school and offhandedly mentioned that there was a lab researching concussion. However, when I actually began studying here, I was only studying chemistry and never thought that I would be able to tie concussion to chemistry. When I decided my sophomore year to add exercise science as a major it felt more attainable, but finally last year when I was pushed to find a mentor, I asked Dr. Elbin if he would let me join the lab. My only regret is not asking sooner.
My research topic was born from the now Dr. Katie Stephenson as she was preparing a project for her dissertation. Where she focused on gendered response to the bicycle protocol, the Buffalo Concussion Bike Test (BCBT), in males and females of high and low fitness, I focused specifically on vestibular and ocular motor symptoms such as headache, nausea, dizziness, and mental fogginess. I quickly dove into the topic and learned so much, such as how much of what the public believes about concussion is no longer supported by research. For example, it was once thought that you should sit in a dark room for a week after experiencing a concussion, but it is now known that getting up and moving 24 hours after injury is best for recovery. This was one of the primary principles that guided my research.
Half of this active approach is knowing how hard someone must work to cause symptoms to present, and the other half is improving the workloads someone can tolerate until they fully recover. Additionally, knowing how symptoms present in healthy individuals following exercise can give insight into how a concussed individual might react. One of the challenges of studying this was participant recruitment. Convincing sedentary men and women to come exercise for two different sessions was difficult, while recruiting individuals to the high fitness group was much easier. Having a small financial incentive in the form of gift cards helped, but also recruiting friends provided a level of trust that motivated people to participate. In the end, I found that BCBT, and likely fatigue itself, do not provoke vestibular and ocular motor symptoms in individuals. This suggests that head movement is a better predictor of symptom provocation, providing new insight into how the BCBT may be used and what methods may be best for ensuring someone has recovered from their injury.
Many different sources helped me complete the project. For one, I was lucky enough to receive funding from the Honors College Research Grant. My primary mentors through this were my advisor, Dr. Elbin, and Dr. Stephenson as she was finishing her PhD program. While Dr. Stephenson guided me through the hands-on components of human research, Dr. Elbin led me through the writing process. I received much help from Kori Durfee, a current PhD candidate, who helped me learn the statistics program I used for data analysis and provided edits to my manuscript and proposal presentation. I’m also grateful to my fellow undergraduate students who worked on data collection with me. Finally, I would not have been pushed to find a research mentor at all if it were not for Dr. Gallagher, who taught my research methods class and later was kind enough to be my second committee member. While it may be tempting to take all the credit for my work, I am so thankful for all of the people who guided me through this process. This was definitely not a one-woman job.
Now that I have graduated, I have set my sights on furthering my education through the Master of Exercise Science program here at Arkansas. My ultimate goal is to go to medical school and become a sports medicine physician, as working with athletes is my passion. I know that the research I did for this project and my education as a whole here will carry me into my future endeavors, and I am grateful for all of the amazing experiences I have had so far. Go Hogs!