AI Insight
This study examined cognitive functioning across 188 high-performance athletes aged 16.56 years on average, comparing team sport athletes with those in speed/strength and precision/skill-dependent sports. Team sport athletes demonstrated superior performance on multiple cognitive domains, including visual working memory, response inhibition, visuospatial working memory, and attention tasks, with the most pronounced differences observed at higher performance percentiles. The findings suggest that different types of sports may be associated with distinct cognitive profiles, with team sports showing particular advantages in executive function and memory domains.
Why it matters
These results could inform talent identification programs and training strategies by highlighting the cognitive demands associated with different sport types. Understanding sport-specific cognitive profiles may help optimize athlete development programs and potentially guide rehabilitation approaches following sports-related injuries.
Understand the Science
Recent research indicates that high-performance athletes may exhibit superior cognitive functioning, yet much of this work has examined single domains in isolation, without considering how cognitive profiles may differ across types of sport. To address this gap, the current study adopts a multi-domain framework to examine domain-general cognitive functioning in high-performance athletes. The sample consisted of 188 athletes from a regional level training/development organization (nFemale = 109, nMale = 79; Mean age ± SD: 16.56 ± 1.95 years). Athletes completed a battery of computerized neuropsychological tests assessing a broad range of cognitive functioning, including aspects of working memory, inhibition, attention/concentration, and spatial processing. Athletes from team sports outperformed those in speed/strength and precision/skill-dependent sports, particularly in tasks assessing visual short-term (working) memory (p < 0.001), response inhibition (p < 0.001), visuospatial working memory (p < 0.001), and working memory (p < 0.001). When looking at the proportion of high scores achieved across sport classifications, most athletes achieved at least one high score (75th: 83.9–94.7%), though proportions declined at higher cutoffs (91st: 42.9–60.5%). Chi-square analyses revealed that team sport athletes consistently outperformed the other groups in achieving multiple high scores, particularly at the 75th (p < 0.002) and 84th (p < 0.001) percentile cutoffs. These findings provide a foundation for future research to advance our understanding of how sport-specific demands may be associated with cognitive functioning.