Perceptual-cognitive Training Research Articles

Feasibility of a novel neurofeedback system: a parallel randomized single-blinded pilot study

Neurocognitive assessment tools have been proposed to optimize, maintain, and improve perceptual-cognitive performance. Here, we investigated the feasibility and efficacy of a novel neurofeedback system, neuroMoon (nM), on cognitive abilities compared with one of the most popular perceptual-cognitive training (PCT) tools both in sports and rehabilitation called NeuroTracker (NT). Thirty-one young athletes performed a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests from the Vienna Test System before and after a 12-session computer-based cognitive training program using nM (n = 11, age 22.6 ± 3.8 years), nM sham (CON, n = 10, age 20.3 ± 1.2 years) or NT (n = 10, age 20.5 ± 1.7 years) device. A series of repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to detect changes in cognitive abilities in response to the training. Participants had faster median reaction time in both the color-naming and word-reading conditions of the Stroop test (all p < 0.005), regardless of group. Regarding the task switching test, statistical analysis indicated faster working time and mean reaction time of the incongruent stimuli, repetition task, and shifting task (all p < 0.005), nevertheless, these changes were also regardless of group. In addition, we found fewer omitted (pre: 17.5 ± 8.3, post: 6.4 ± 1.5, d = 1.311) and more correct (pre: 261.6 ± 36.1, post: 278.6 ± 38.7, d = − 1.020) post-intervention answers in the determination test, regardless of group. Finally, participants in each group performed the digit span backward test with larger post (6.42 ± 1.54) vs. pre (5.55 ± 1.43) scores following the PCT (d = − 0.801). Overall, PCT with nM as compared with NT induced similar results in cognitive abilities suggesting its potential to be used to achieve and maintain better mental performance. However, considering that the sham stimulation also induced similar improvements in cognitive abilities, future studies should clearly determine the cognitive measures that could benefit from NF training.

Test Transferability of 3D-MOT Training on Soccer Specific Parameters

Introduction: Three-dimensional motion object tracking (3D-MOT) is perceptual-cognitive tool which utilizes executive function to train athletes to ignore distractors and enhance processing speed and peripheral focus. The benefits of perceptual-cognitive training in professional level athletes have recently been investigated in multiple sports such as basketball, soccer, and archery, but conclusive evidence suggesting test transferability of 3D-MOT training is lacking. The purpose of this research was to examine the transferability of perceptual-cognitive training to on-field soccer performance parameters. Methods: NCAA Division I women’s soccer players (n=22) between the ages of 18-25 participated in the study. NeuroTracker, a 3D-MOT device to train athletes executive function and decision making, was utilized to test the athletes. After baseline testing for both groups to determine visual tracking speed (VTS), the experimental group completed 10 3D-MOT training sessions with NeuroTracker over four-weeks. Game performance data, successful action, passing percentage, and short-medium range passing percentage, was collected utilizing Wyscout video analysis software during the 2021 season. Results: The mean VTS for the NeuroTracker training group significantly increased by 0.68 from pre-3D-MOT training to post-3D-MOT training (p&lt;0.001) while the control group increased by 0.12 (p = 0.034). Analysis utilized an ANCOVA and observed no statistical significance for passing accuracy, successful action and short-medium passing accuracy (p &gt; 0.05). However, the average in game passing-accuracy for the experimental group increased over the control group. Conclusions: The effect of test transferability of 3D-MOT training on soccer specific parameters may be present, but causation of test transferability is not present within the current study. Further research is needed to investigate the cause-and-effect relationship of 3D-MOT training on soccer specific parameters while utilizing recruitment of multiple teams to increase sample sizes for similar investigations.

Perceptual-cognitive performance of youth soccer players in a 360°-environment – An investigation of the relationship with soccer-specific performance and the effects of systematic training

IntroductionSoccer is a complex game in which athletes perform in a dynamic 360°-environment. The results of numerous studies highlight the importance of perceptual-cognitive functions for soccer performance. Moreover, in recent years, the idea of improving sports performance through systematic perceptual-cognitive training has been increasingly investigated. Contradictory results and limitations in previous research call for further investigation. The current study aims to investigate both the relationship between perceptual-cognitive performance in a dynamic 360°-environment and soccer performance as well as the effects of perceptual-cognitive training in such an environment on soccer performance. Methods42 youth soccer players aged 11–13 years were tested at a first time of measurement (T1) on their perceptual-cognitive functions using a 360°-multiple object tracking task (360-MOT) and a visuospatial attention task. Soccer performance was assessed using an isolated, validated 360°-passing task and a small-sided game. Subsequently, participants were randomly divided into a perceptual-cognitive training group, an active control group, or a passive control group. Participants in the training group received 360-MOT training twice per week during a 5-week intervention phase, while participants in the active control group received a pseudo video training. Perceptual-cognitive and soccer-specific performance was assessed after the intervention phase at a second time of measurement (T2). ResultsAt T1, there was a significant positive relationship between 360-MOT performance and both the accuracy score in the 360°-passing task and the defensive performance score in the small-sided game. Regarding the perceptual-cognitive training intervention, the analysis at T2 revealed significant task-specific training effects but no transfer effects on perceptual-cognitive or soccer-specific performance. ConclusionsThe results highlight the relevance of perceptual-cognitive performance in a 360°-environment for soccer-specific performance but question the effects of short isolated perceptual-cognitive training interventions on soccer-specific performance.

Chess training for improving executive functions and invasion game tactical behavior of college student athletes: a preliminary investigation

ABSTRACT Background Within team sports, players’ ability to inhibit inappropriate behavioral responses and flexibly adapt to upcoming challenges relates significantly to their game performance. As such, there have been calls for cognitively fostering programs to form the basis of game teaching and coaching practice. However, only few studies have tested so far the effects of purposefully designed perceptual-cognitive interventions on players’ tactical performance. Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a chess-based intervention designed to train invasion-game athletes’ executive functions (EFs) could positively impact their tactical game behaviors. Methods Twenty-six invasion-game athletes, 19 to 20 years old (M = 20.58, SD = 1.74) participated in the study and were randomly assigned to a chess group (ChG) (n = 13) and a control group (CG) (n = 13). The ChG participated in a 10-week chess training program designed to foster EFs, while the CG received no special treatment. Pre-and-post measures were completed using: (a) core EF tests and (b) the game performance assessment instrument. Results After the intervention, the ChG group showed improvement in working memory and selective attention (cool EFs; higher memory span, fewer errors on incongruent stimuli), as well as decision-making and flexibility in passing (tactical behaviors; more appropriate passes, variety in passes), whereas no such changes were recorded for the CG. Further, there were no differential changes in cognitive flexibility and affective decision making (cool and hot EFs), as well as support, originality and fluency in passing (tactical behaviors) for the two groups as a function of time. Conclusion By embracing the idea of situated cognition, the current study provides some initial evidence for the linkage between perceptual-cognitive training and team sport performance, suggesting that EFs – as fundamental cognitive processes – can be trained to work in conjunction with the cognitive components of game performance within sport settings. The results of this work are discussed in the context of cognitive and game teaching research, extending current knowledge and understanding of how lab-based and sport training methods can be effectively combined and delivered.

The Effect of Perceptual-Semantic Blindness in Solving Semantic Problems with Visual Means Containing the Solution

In the light of the Cultural-Historical Theory (L.S. Vygotsky) and the Theory of Transcendental Psychology of Perception (A.I. Mirakyan), the author considers the position and functional role of the perceptual process in the development of the mind of an adult. The hypothesis is that the functional role of perception in the mind of the person at the end of its period of maturation is subordinate to the higher mental functions, in particular, the process of thinking, which is based on the search for a person available memory capacity and the possibility of finding knowledge in the relevant external sources. Therefore, in semantic terms, visual perception can be excluded from a conscious process of finding semantic solutions. This suggests the subordinate function of visual perception in cognitive adult life and the virtually automatic nature of the process that serves the knowledge-based development opportunities. In this context, we presented and experimentally tested on 30 students the effect of perceptual-semantic blindness, which shows that the mental process of solving semantic tasks is in the main ignoring additional visual stimuli containing the solution in the general visual field. In contrast to inattentional blindness, these stimuli are constantly presented in the field of vision and perceptual blindness was due not so much to inattention, but semantic processes. The presented effect of perceptual-semantic blindness is clearly expressed in more than 60% of cases (up to 100% for graphical variants). This situation can be regarded as the result of a kind of sociocultural development, formed in the conditions of modern information technology society. It also points to the need for special and purposeful perceptual-cognitive training as one of the effective means of using unclaimed perceptual possibilities to avoid the phenomena of perceptual-semantic blindness. These means are especially important for the educational process.

Embedding Perceptual–Cognitive Training in the Athlete Environment: An Interdisciplinary Case Study Among Elite Female Goalkeepers Preparing for Tokyo 2020

Goalkeepers play a very specific and crucial role in water polo. They rely on advanced perceptual–cognitive (P–C) skills to make fast and accurate decisions. However, their daily training environment often lacks stimulation and representativeness of game demands. This was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where noncontact practices became the “new normal.” In the Canadian Women’s National Team preparation for the 2020 Olympics, goalkeepers’ P–C training was made a priority. Led by the team’s mental performance consultant and experts from transdisciplinary fields, the initiative began with an evaluation of a broad range of P–C skills in goalkeepers. Leading up to the Olympics, a series of P–C activities (i.e., anticipatory training using video occlusion, eye–hand coordination, and visuomotor drills) were adopted based on ecological dynamics principles. Virtual reality technology and constraints-focused tools were used to enrich and diversify the goalkeepers’ daily trainings environment. This case study reports the evaluation of P–C skills, the context, and the way in which the P–C activities were implemented, as well as their holistic impact on goalkeepers. Reflections and limitations are also shared to encourage interdisciplinary efforts in sport psychology and increase awareness among mental performance consultants about the importance of psycho-perceptual-motor skill training for mental performance.

Enhancing learning in a perceptual-cognitive training paradigm using EEG-neurofeedback

This paper provides the framework and supporting evidence for a highly efficient closed-loop paradigm that modifies a classic learning scenario using real-time brain activity in order to improve learning performance in a perceptual-cognitive training paradigm known as 3-dimensional multiple object tracking, or 3D-MOT. Results demonstrate that, over 10 sessions, when manipulating this novel task by using real-time brain signals, speed and degree of learning can be substantially improved compared with a classic learning system or an active sham-control group. Superior performance persists even once the feedback signal is removed, which suggests that the effects of enhanced training are consolidated and do not rely on continued feedback. This type of learning paradigm could contribute to overcoming one of the fundamental limitations of neurofeedback and other cognitive enhancement techniques, a lack of observable transfer effects, by utilizing a method that can be directly integrated into the context in which improved performance is sought.

A critical systematic review of the Neurotracker perceptual-cognitive training tool

A critical systematic review of the Neurotracker perceptual-cognitive training tool

Perceptual Cognitive Training Does Not Improve Clinical Outcomes at 4 and 12 Weeks Following Concussion in Children and Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

To determine whether a perceptual-cognitive training program using 3D-multiple object tracking (3D-MOT) can improve symptoms following acute pediatric concussion. Research laboratory within a pediatric trauma center. Children and adolescents (n = 62, age= 13.27 ± 2.50) with diagnosed concussion. Randomized controlled trial. Children were randomized into either 3D-MOT, 2048 game, or standard care-only groups. Participants and parents completed the Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory (PCSI) at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks postinjury. Intervention participants completed either the 3D-MOT protocol or the 2048 game at 6 sessions between the baseline and 4-week assessment. A 3 (group) × 10 (time) mixed-model analysis of variance evaluated PCSI total scores. The rate of persistent postconcussive symptom (PPCS) was evaluated at 4 weeks using χ2 analysis. Symptoms decreased throughout the study using both child-reported (F(9,374) = 22.03, P < .001) and parent-reported scores (F(9,370) = 28.06, P < .001). Twenty-four (44.4%) children met the study definition for PPCS using the child-reported PCSI, while 20 (37.7%) children had PPCS using parent reports. The intervention did not significantly affect symptom resolution or PPCS rates. There is no benefit to prescribing 3D-MOT training for acute rehabilitation in pediatric patients with concussion and clinicians should instead focus on more effective programs.

Shaping the Functional Task Environment in Sports Injury Rehabilitation: A Framework to Integrate Perceptual-Cognitive Training in Rehabilitation

Shaping the Functional Task Environment in Sports Injury Rehabilitation: A Framework to Integrate Perceptual-Cognitive Training in Rehabilitation

On-Field Perceptual-Cognitive Training Improves Peripheral Reaction in Soccer: A Controlled Trial.

Abilities such as peripheral reaction are of special importance in soccer. Whether these abilities can be improved by sport-specific on-field interventions remains unclear. The aim of the present controlled trial was to investigate the effect of a soccer-specific perceptual-cognitive on-field training on peripheral reaction of highly talented soccer players aged 12–13 years. N = 38 male elite athletes from young talent centers were allocated to an intervention (n = 19) and a control group (CG) (n = 19). Computer-based peripheral perception tests were conducted before and after intervention. Combining a sport-specific and a juggling task, the intervention was performed once a week (8 weeks, 20 min per week) in addition to team training. The CG exclusively underwent usual team training. Analyses show significant differences between the two groups for peripheral reaction time (PRT), with significant improvements for the intervention group and none for the CG. Furthermore, results indicate that improvements in peripheral reaction might be due to changes in the reaction time of right-footed players. Future studies should be conducted to clarify the effect of sport-specific on-field training approaches on PRT. These analyses should consider the influence of lateralization on effectivity of perceptual-cognitive on-field training approaches.

Peripheral Perception In Soccer: Effects Of Sports-specific Dual Task Training

In soccer, abilities such as peripheral perception seem to be of special importance. However, the extent to which these skills can be improved through practical and sports-specific training interventions has not been conclusively clarified. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of an 8-week sports-specific training intervention under dual-task conditions on the peripheral perception of young, highly talented soccer players. METHODS:34 highly talented male soccer players (12.7 ± .5 yrs) were assigned to an intervention group (IG: 15 subjects) and a control group (CG: 19 subjects). Computer-based measurements were conducted for pretest (T0) and posttest (T1). Outcome parameters were reaction time (RT) for left-sided (RTL) and right-sided (RTR) peripherally perceived stimuli. The sports-specific perceptual cognitive training (8 weeks, 20 min weekly) consisted of juggling training and two soccer-specific double tasks ("juggling and peripheral passing", "foveal focus and peripheral reaction"). RESULTS: The two-way ANOVA showed a significant interaction effect for RTR between the groups (IG, KG) and the measurement times (T0, T1) (F(1, 32) = 9.63, p = .004, η2 = .23). For left-sided stimuli (RTL) ANOVA did not show a significant interaction effect (time x group) (F(1, 32) = .49, p = .49, η2 = .02). A significant interaction effect (time x group) could be determined for RT (F(1,32) = 4.85, p = .035, η2=.13). CONCLUSIONS: The intervention showed a significant effect on right-sided peripheral reaction time of highly talented soccer players. The analysis of the left-sided reaction time showed no significant interaction effect. Based on demands for sports-specific transfer tasks, the shown training intervention represents a practical approach to improve perceptual-cognitive skills. In future analyzes, neurophysiological parameters (e.g. changes in activity in the motor cortex) should be recorded in order to determine the importance of dual tasks for the development of perceptual-cognitive abilities of young highly talented soccer players and to understand underlying mechanisms.

Perceptual-Cognitive Training Can Improve Cognition in Older Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline

Perceptual-Cognitive Training Can Improve Cognition in Older Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline

Off-Court Generic Perceptual-Cognitive Training in Elite Volleyball Athletes: Task-Specific Effects and Levels of Transfer.

Background: The nature of perceptual-cognitive expertise in interactive sports has gained more and more scientific interest over the last two decades. Research to understand how this expertise can be developed has not been addressed profoundly yet. In approaches to study this with interventional designs, only few studies have scrutinized several levels of transfer such as to the field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of a generic off-court perceptual-cognitive training in elite volleyball players on three different levels: task-specific, near-transfer, and far-transfer effects. Based on overlapping cognitive processes between training and testing, we hypothesized task-specific improvements as well as positive near- and far-transfer effects after a multiple-object tracking training intervention.Methods: Twenty-two volleyball experts completed a 8-week three-dimensional (3D) multiple-object tracking (3D-MOT) training intervention. A control group (n = 21; volleyball experts also) participated in regular ball practice only. Before and after training, both groups performed tests on the 3D-MOT, four near-transfer tests in cognitive domains, and a far-transfer, lab-based, and volleyball-specific blocking test.Results: The results of the 2 × 2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) (group, time) showed significant interaction effects in the 3D-MOT task [F(1,40) = 93.10; p < 0.001; = 0.70] and in two near-transfer tests [sustained attention: F(1,40) = 15.45; p < 0.001; = 0.28; processing speed: F(1,40) = 12.15; p = 0.001; = 0.23]. No significant interaction effects were found in the far-transfer volleyball test. Conclusions: Our study suggests positive effects in task-specific and two near-transfer tests of a perceptual-cognitive intervention in elite volleyball athletes. This supports a partial overlap in cognitive processing between practice and tests with the result of positive near-transfer. However, there are no significant effects in far-transfer testing. Although these current results are promising, it is still unclear how far-transfer effects of a generic perceptual-cognitive training intervention can be assured.

Combining 3D-MOT With Sport Decision-Making for Perceptual-Cognitive Training in Virtual Reality.

This study introduces a virtual life-sized perceptual-cognitive training paradigm that combines three-dimensional multiple object tracking (3D-MOT) with motor (Experiment 1) or perceptual (Experiment 2) sport decision-making tasks. We sought to assess the impact of training on task performance and determine optimal training conditions for improvement and learning. Fifty-seven participants were randomly assigned to one of four training conditions (isolated 3D-MOT, 3D-MOT combined with a decision-making task, consolidated 3D-MOT later combined with a decision-making task, and isolated decision-making task). We evaluated task performance using speed thresholds, success rate (%), and reaction time (s). Findings were that the dual-task paradigm was associated with performance beyond chance level on both 3D-MOT and decision-making tasks despite an important dual-task cost. Interestingly, the results seemed to favor consolidated 3D-MOT training over simultaneous 3D-MOT training when combined with a motor decision-making task but not when combined with a perceptual decision-making task. The number of shared attentional resources in the nature of the additional task (i.e., perceptual or motor decision-making) seems to be key in interpreting the dual-task interference. These findings must be considered when designing representative multitask perceptual-cognitive training.

Evaluating Weaknesses of "Perceptual-Cognitive Training" and "Brain Training" Methods in Sport: An Ecological Dynamics Critique.

The recent upsurge in “brain training and perceptual-cognitive training,” proposing to improve isolated processes, such as brain function, visual perception, and decision-making, has created significant interest in elite sports practitioners, seeking to create an “edge” for athletes. The claims of these related “performance-enhancing industries” can be considered together as part of a process training approach proposing enhanced cognitive and perceptual skills and brain capacity to support performance in everyday life activities, including sport. For example, the “process training industry” promotes the idea that playing games not only makes you a better player but also makes you smarter, more alert, and a faster learner. In this position paper, we critically evaluate the effectiveness of both types of process training programmes in generalizing transfer to sport performance. These issues are addressed in three stages. First, we evaluate empirical evidence in support of perceptual-cognitive process training and its application to enhancing sport performance. Second, we critically review putative modularized mechanisms underpinning this kind of training, addressing limitations and subsequent problems. Specifically, we consider merits of this highly specific form of training, which focuses on training of isolated processes such as cognitive processes (attention, memory, thinking) and visual perception processes, separately from performance behaviors and actions. We conclude that these approaches may, at best, provide some “general transfer” of underlying processes to specific sport environments, but lack “specificity of transfer” to contextualize actual performance behaviors. A major weakness of process training methods is their focus on enhancing the performance in body “modules” (e.g., eye, brain, memory, anticipatory sub-systems). What is lacking is evidence on how these isolated components are modified and subsequently interact with other process “modules,” which are considered to underlie sport performance. Finally, we propose how an ecological dynamics approach, aligned with an embodied framework of cognition undermines the rationale that modularized processes can enhance performance in competitive sport. An ecological dynamics perspective proposes that the body is a complex adaptive system, interacting with performance environments in a functionally integrated manner, emphasizing that the inter-relation between motor processes, cognitive and perceptual functions, and the constraints of a sport task is best understood at the performer-environment scale of analysis.

The effects of perceptual-cognitive training with Neurotracker on executive brain functions among elite athletes

The current study tests possible transfer effects from NT 3D MOT training among elite athletes from dynamic sports on executive brain functions, such as alerting, orienting, executive control, inhi...

An Augmented Perceptual-Cognitive Intervention Using a Pattern Recall Paradigm With Junior Soccer Players.

In sport, perceptual skill training software is intended to assist tactical training in the field. The aim of this field study was to test whether “laboratory-based” pattern recall training would augment tactical skill training performed on the field. Twenty-six soccer players between 14 and 16 years of age from a single team participated in this study and were divided into three groups. The first received field training on a specific tactical skill plus cognitive training sessions on the pattern recall task. The second performed only the field training while the third group served as a control group and had field training on other topics. The task on the pre-, post-, and retention-tests was to recall specific soccer patterns displayed on a computer screen. Results showed significant changes between pre- and post-test performance. There was no significant interaction between groups and tests but the effect size was large. From pre- to retention-test, there was a significant difference between tests and an interaction between groups and tests, but no main effect difference between groups. On the basis of significance testing only retention was affected by the additional training, however, descriptive results and effect sizes from pre- to post-test were as expected and suggested there were learning benefits. Together these results indicate that augmented perceptual-cognitive training might be beneficial, but some limitations in our study design (e.g., missing field test, missing placebo group, etc.) need to be improved in future work.

Cholinergic Potentiation Improves Perceptual-Cognitive Training of Healthy Young Adults in Three Dimensional Multiple Object Tracking.

A large body of literature supports cognitive enhancement as an effect of cholinergic potentiation. However, it remains elusive whether pharmacological manipulations of cholinergic neurotransmission enhance complex visual processing in healthy individuals. To test this hypothesis, we randomly administered either the cholinergic transmission enhancer donepezil (DPZ; 5 mg P.O.) or placebo (lactose) to young adults (n = 17) 3 h before each session of the three-dimensional (3D) multiple object tracking (3D-MOT) task. This multi-focal attention task evaluates perceptual-cognitive learning over five sessions conducted 7 days apart. A significant amount of learning was observed in the DPZ group but not the placebo group in the fourth session. In the fifth session, this learning effect was observed in both groups. Furthermore, preliminary results for a subgroup of participants (n = 9) 4–14 months later suggested the cholinergic enhancement effect was long lasting. On the other hand, DPZ had no effect on basic visual processing as measured by a motion and orientation discrimination task performed as an independent one-time, pre-post drug study without placebo control (n = 10). The results support the construct that cholinergic enhancement facilitates the encoding of a highly demanding perceptual-cognitive task although there were no significant drug effects on the performance levels compared to placebo.

Training in interactive sports

The general purpose of this systematic review was to study the effectiveness of off-court perceptual–cognitive training interventions in nonnovice, interactive sport athletes. We looked at task-specific practice effects and, more importantly, the transfer of effects. Databases used for the literature search were PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO. In all, 16 studies were found to be eligible for this review. These studies were independently evaluated by four reviewers for methodological quality and their evidence for specific practice effects and transfer effects. The effectiveness was analyzed with respect to the level of transfer, i. e., from training-task-specific effects to near-transfer (e. g., a similar perceptual task), further-transfer (e. g., a sensorimotor sports skill), and far-transfer (e. g., competition performance) intervention effects. Analyses of the 16 included studies suggest that around 60% of the training-specific measures tested after off-court practicing perceptual–cognitive training in sports athletes signal performance enhancement. However, transfer, be it near, further or far, is mostly not studied empirically; if studied, there is currently only limited and weak evidence for intermediate and far transfer. To reason that perceptual–cognitive off-court training interventions are ineffective might be premature at this point of time as methodological quality can still be improved and only a very limited number of studies actually included transfer variables. In those few studies integrating transfer variables, results are mixed and inconsistent. Future work should focus on critical factors to assure transfer of perceptual–cognitive training interventions.