Clinical and Neuropathological Correlates of Substance Use Disorders in Brain Donors Exposed to Repetitive Head Impacts

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative tauopathy associated with repetitive head impacts (RHI) like those from American football. Causes of cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms (e.g., neurobehavioral dysregulation) in CTE are unclear. Substance use disorders (SUDs) are common among individuals with autopsy‐confirmed CTE, but their association with CTE and related symptoms are unknown. We examined the association between SUDs and CTE pathology, and cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms in deceased football players.