New Brain Imaging Technology Could Help Detect CTE Before Serious Damage Occurs

According to a new authoritative medical textbook, single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain scans can identify chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) patterns in living patients, offering potential for early intervention. The textbook "Diagnostic Imaging: Brain, Fifth Edition" establishes that functional neuroimaging tools like SPECT can detect telltale patterns of this progressive brain disease while individuals are still living.

What Is CTE and Who Does It Affect?

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a progressive brain disease caused by repeated head injuries or blows to the head, including both concussions and smaller impacts that don't cause obvious symptoms. Unlike damage from a single traumatic brain injury, CTE develops over time as repeated impacts damage brain cells and disrupt normal function.

The disease disproportionately affects certain groups, with research showing that among 202 deceased former American football players, an astounding 177 of them—or 87 percent—had CTE confirmed at autopsy. A 2025 study examining 47 donated brains found that about 15 percent had CTE, with five of the seven cases having a history of repeated head impacts from activities like:

• Football Playing: Professional and amateur players face repeated subconcussive hits during practice and games
• Boxing and Combat Sports: Athletes regularly sustain direct blows to the head as part of competition
• Military Combat: Service members experience blast injuries and other head trauma during deployment
• Interpersonal Violence: Victims of domestic abuse or assault may suffer repeated head injuries over time
• Child Abuse: Young victims can sustain multiple head injuries that contribute to later CTE development

How Does SPECT Imaging Help With CTE Detection?

Previously, CTE could only be definitively diagnosed after death through brain autopsy. The confirmation that SPECT imaging can detect CTE-related brain changes in living patients represents a significant development in how medical experts can evaluate and potentially treat the condition.

SPECT scans work by measuring blood flow and activity in different brain regions, allowing doctors to identify the specific patterns associated with CTE. This functional neuroimaging approach can reveal problems with brain cell communication and the abnormal buildup of tau protein that characterizes the disease, which impedes communication between brain cells and eventually leads to cell death.

What Symptoms Should People Watch For?

While there are no symptoms directly linked to CTE, people later confirmed to have the disease at autopsy often experienced a range of concerning changes. These included behavioral shifts like aggression and impulsivity, cognitive problems such as memory loss and difficulty with planning tasks, and mood changes including depression and emotional instability.

Some individuals also developed movement-related symptoms like slowed movement, shaking, problems with speech, and trouble with walking and balance. In severe cases, people experienced a gradual loss of control over basic functions like walking, swallowing, speaking, and breathing—a condition called motor neuron disease.

The ability to detect CTE through SPECT imaging offers new possibilities for understanding this condition in living patients. As medical knowledge of CTE continues to develop, early detection could become an important tool for monitoring brain health in at-risk populations who have experienced repeated head impacts.