Relationship Between Mode of Sport Training and General Cognitive Performance

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• Journal of Sport and Health Science

Abstract

Whether the type of sport training — open-skill (e.g., racquet sports, martial arts) versus closed-skill (e.g., swimming, running) — differentially affects general cognitive function is a question with both theoretical and applied importance. In this cross-sectional study, elite athletes from open-skill and closed-skill sports completed a battery of cognitive tests assessing attention, working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. Open-skill athletes showed significantly superior performance on attention-switching and cognitive flexibility measures compared to closed-skill athletes and sedentary controls, while closed-skill athletes demonstrated advantages in sustained attention tasks. These findings suggest that the cognitive demands of different sports map onto distinct executive function profiles, with implications for sport selection and cognitive training.

Citation

Chang, E. C., Chu, C.-H., Karageorghis, C. I., Wang, C.-C., Tsai, J. H.-C., Wang, Y.-S., & Chang, Y.-K. (2017). Relationship between mode of sport training and general cognitive performance. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 6, 89–95.

@article{Chang2017,
  author  = {Chang, Erik Chih-Hung and Chu, Chien-Heng and Karageorghis, Costas I. and Wang, Chun-Chih and Tsai, Jack Han-Chao and Wang, Yung-Shun and Chang, Yu-Kai},
  year    = {2017},
  title   = {Relationship Between Mode of Sport Training and General Cognitive Performance},
  journal = {Journal of Sport and Health Science},
  volume  = {6},
  pages   = {89--95},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.jshs.2015.07.007}
}