New Scale Grades Brain Gap Tied to Head Impacts

NYU researchers unveil a five-grade system for measuring the cavum septi pellucidi, a brain structure linked to repetitive head trauma.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Alzheimer’s

New Scale Grades Brain Gap Tied to Head Impacts

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Would you let your child play tackle football, knowing about head-injury risks?

Researchers at NYU developed an updated five-grade scale for the cavum septi pellucidi, a gap in the brain, as part of the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project-II. In a study of 170 male former football players and 54 men without repeated head impacts, football players were four times more likely to have a malformed gap.

Why it matters

Earlier measurement methods did not account for the length, volume, and abnormalities of the gap, limiting how well it could be assessed. A more precise grading system may help researchers better understand how head trauma relates to brain structure over time.

The study imaged 170 male former football players and 54 control men, finding players four times more likely to have a malformed gap, measured against a 2-millimeter threshold considered typical in adults. Because each participant was scanned only once, the researchers could not determine whether head impacts cause the gap to worsen.

The players

NYU Langone

NYU Langone is a major academic medical center whose concussion center researcher contributed to the study.

NYU Grossman School of Medicine

NYU Grossman School of Medicine is the medical school where the study's lead author works and that conducted the research.

The details

The updated scale sorts each scan into one of five grades based on the gap's length, volume, and abnormalities. Worsening grades aligned with greater estimated repetitive head impact exposure, though the single-scan design leaves the direction of that relationship unproven.

The study results were published on NYU News on November 9, 2026.

Health Landscape

The work was conducted under the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project-II, which studies brain changes associated with repetitive head trauma. Improved imaging measures like this scale aim to give researchers more consistent markers as they examine links between head impacts and long-term brain health.

For former football players and others with a history of repeated head impacts, the study suggests brain imaging may eventually help identify structural changes. The findings do not yet establish a diagnostic test or treatment, and no clinical changes for individuals are recommended at this stage.

The takeaway

Brain structure measures like the cavum septi pellucidi may become useful markers of head trauma, but the current study shows association rather than cause. Continued research will be needed to clarify how these changes develop over time.