Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
School of Kinesiology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
PLoS One. 2022 Apr 22;17(4):e0266933. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266933. eCollection 2022.
Examining non-sport-related cognitive tasks of attention and executive control in skilled athletes may provide insight into the acquisition of highly specific skills developed in experts as well as help identify successful performance in sport. Through a cross-sectional design, this study examined performance on aspects of attention and executive control among varsity athletes playing soccer (strategic sport) or track & field (static sport) using a computerized test of attention and executive control. Ninety-seven university athletes participating in soccer (n = 50) or track and field (n = 47) were included in the study. Domains of attention and executive control were examined using the Attention Network Test-Interactions (ANT-I). Mean reaction time (RT) and intra-individual variability (IIV) were compared between groups as measures of performance speed and performance stability respectively. Soccer players demonstrated overall faster RTs (p = 0.0499; ηp2 = .04) and higher response accuracy (p = .021, d = .48) on the ANT-I compared to track and field athletes. Faster RTs were observed for soccer players when presented with an alerting tone (p = .029, d = .45), valid orienting cue (p = .019, d = .49) and incongruent flanker (p = .031, d = .45). No significant group differences were observed in IIV (p = .083, d = .36). Athletes engaging in strategic sports (i.e., soccer) demonstrated faster performance under test conditions that required higher vigilance and conflict resolution. These findings suggest that engagement in strategic sports is associated with enhanced performance on non-sport-related cognitive tasks of attention and executive control.
检查非运动相关的注意和执行控制认知任务，可能有助于深入了解专家在高度特定技能方面的获得情况，也有助于确定运动中的成功表现。通过横断面设计，本研究使用计算机化的注意和执行控制测试，检查了参加足球（策略性运动）或田径（静态运动）的大学生运动员在注意和执行控制方面的表现。本研究共纳入了 97 名参加足球（n = 50）或田径（n = 47）的大学运动员。使用注意力网络测试-交互（ANT-I）检查注意力和执行控制领域。分别将平均反应时间（RT）和个体内变异性（IIV）作为衡量表现速度和表现稳定性的指标，比较组间差异。与田径运动员相比，足球运动员在 ANT-I 上的总体 RT 更快（p = 0.0499；ηp2 =.04），反应准确性更高（p =.021，d =.48）。当呈现警报音（p =.029，d =.45）、有效定向 cue（p =.019，d =.49）和不一致的侧翼（p =.031，d =.45）时，足球运动员的 RT 更快。在 IIV 方面未观察到组间差异（p =.083，d =.36）。从事策略性运动（即足球）的运动员在需要更高警觉性和冲突解决能力的测试条件下表现更快。这些发现表明，从事策略性运动与非运动相关的注意和执行控制认知任务的表现提高有关。
