Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Bremgartenstrasse 145, CH-3012, Bern, Switzerland.
The Polytechnic School, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ, USA.
Psychon Bull Rev. 2021 Oct;28(5):1458-1483. doi: 10.3758/s13423-021-01892-2. Epub 2021 Apr 5.
In this systematic review, we evaluate the scientific evidence behind "Neurotracker," one of the most popular perceptual-cognitive training tools in sports. The tool, which is also used in rehabilitation and aging research to examine cognitive abilities, uses a 3D multiple object-tracking (MOT) task. In this review, we examine Neurotracker from both a sport science and a basic science perspective. We first summarize the sport science debate regarding the value of general cognitive skill training, based on tools such as Neurotracker, versus sport-specific skill training. We then consider the several hundred MOT publications in cognitive and vision science from the last 30 years that have investigated cognitive functions and object tracking processes. This literature suggests that the abilities underlying object tracking are not those advertised by the Neurotracker manufacturers. With a systematic literature search, we scrutinize the evidence for whether general cognitive skills can be tested and trained with Neurotracker and whether these trained skills transfer to other domains. The literature has major limitations, for example a total absence of preregistered studies, which makes the evidence for improvements for working memory and sustained attention very weak. For other skills as well, the effects are mixed. Only three studies investigated far transfer to ecologically valid tasks, two of which did not find any effect. We provide recommendations for future Neurotracker research to improve the evidence base and for making better use of sport and basic science findings.
在这项系统评价中，我们评估了“Neurotracker”作为运动领域最受欢迎的知觉认知训练工具之一的科学依据。该工具也用于康复和老龄化研究，以检查认知能力，使用的是一个 3D 多目标跟踪（MOT）任务。在本综述中，我们从运动科学和基础科学的角度来考察 Neurotracker。我们首先总结了基于 Neurotracker 等工具的一般认知技能训练相对于专项技能训练的价值的运动科学争论。然后，我们考虑了过去 30 年来在认知和视觉科学领域的数百篇关于认知功能和目标跟踪过程的 MOT 文献。这些文献表明，目标跟踪的能力与 Neurotracker 制造商所宣传的能力不同。通过系统的文献检索，我们仔细审查了是否可以使用 Neurotracker 测试和训练一般认知技能以及这些训练的技能是否可以转移到其他领域的证据。该文献存在重大局限性，例如完全没有预先注册的研究，这使得工作记忆和持续注意力等方面的改善证据非常薄弱。对于其他技能，效果也参差不齐。只有三项研究调查了对生态有效任务的远迁移，其中两项没有发现任何效果。我们为未来的 Neurotracker 研究提供了建议，以改善证据基础，并更好地利用运动科学和基础科学的发现。
