Efficiency and Enhancement in Attention Networks of Elite Shooting and Archery Athletes.

Quanyu Lu,Pengli Li,Qiong Wu,Xinghua Liu,Yanhong Wu

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.638822

Quanyu Lu, Pengli Li + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.638822

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Abstract

Attention has been theorized as a system comprising three networks that can be estimated reliably by the attention network test (ANT); the three networks are defined as alerting, orienting, and conflict control. The present study aims to identify the attention networks that are crucial for elite shooting and archery athletes and to examine whether mindfulness training can improve elite athletes' attention networks. We compared the performances in ANT between 62 elite athletes (27 F/35 M, 23.66 ± 4.95 years) from the Chinese national team of shooting and archery and 49 athletes (19 F/30 M, 19.53 ± 3.38 years) from a provincial team in China. The results indicate three well-functioned attention networks in both groups, but elite athletes in the national team responded faster overall than athletes in the provincial team (Diff = 28.84 ms, p = 0.006). The 62 elite athletes in the national team then received mindfulness training with varied periods ranging from 5 to 8 weeks, after which the ANT was re-administered. After mindfulness training, the elite athletes improved in orienting (Diffspatial = 10.02 ms, p = 0.018) and conflict control networks (Diffincon = 12.01 ms, p = 0.019) compared with their pre-training performances. These results suggest that elite shooting and archery athletes in the national team are more efficient in all three attention networks, which means that they are able to reach the alerting state faster, make better use of environmental information, and suppress interference from distractors more efficiently. Moreover, the orienting and conflict control networks of the elite shooting and archery athletes can be improved by mindfulness training. We conclude that mindfulness practice should be considered as a useful addition to daily training for shooting and archery athletes.

Highlights

Attention is the cognitive ability to focus on specific stimulus or locations (Goldstein, 2011), and there is a consensus among researchers that attention is important for success in sports (Moran, 2004; Abernethy et al, 2007)
We focus on shooting and archery, typical selfpaced and far-aiming sports, to identify the attention abilities that are important for elite athletes and to investigate whether these attention abilities can be improved through intervention
By testing the differences in attention network test (ANT) performance before and after mindfulness training, we aim to examine if mindfulness training can effectively improve attention networks in elite shooting and archery athletes

Summary

Introduction

Attention is the cognitive ability to focus on specific stimulus or locations (Goldstein, 2011), and there is a consensus among researchers that attention is important for success in sports (Moran, 2004; Abernethy et al, 2007). For self-paced and far-aiming sports, such as shooting and archery, the role of divided attention may not be as important as it is for basketball, since the execution of movements is completed at an athlete’s own speed and does not rely on teamwork. This leaves open to exploration the issue of what kinds of attention abilities are important for success in self-paced and far-aiming sports. The Emmons case may reflect the role of different attention abilities Despite his high alerting state, he might have misused environmental information to locate his target and failed to exert top-down control to inhibit distractions from another’s target. Emmons’ example once again illustrates the need to identify the specific attention abilities that are important for shooting and archery athletes

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