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. 2022 Aug 31;17(8):e0273607.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273607. eCollection 2022.

Perceptual cognitive abilities in young athletes: A gender comparison

Isabelle Legault  1 , Dylan Sutterlin-Guindon  1 , Jocelyn Faubert  2
Affiliations

Perceptual cognitive abilities in young athletes: A gender comparison

Isabelle Legault et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

To achieve optimal performance in sports, it is essential to have strong perceptual cognitive abilities. Evidence suggests that athletes have superior perceptual abilities compared to nonathletes. However, gender differences in athletes' perceptual cognitive abilities have not been previously reported. This project aims to evaluate perceptual cognitive abilities among male and female adolescents. To measure perceptual abilities, a 3-dimensional multiple-object tracking task was used. The findings confirm the superior perceptual cognitive abilities in young athletes relative to nonathletes. However, our results indicate differences in performance patterns between male and female athletes. These results demonstrate that sports engagement and perceptual cognitive abilities are strongly related during adolescence and that this relationship seems more prevalent in male athletes for this age group.

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Conflict of interest statement

One of the authors is director of Faubertlab at the University of Montreal and he is the Chief Science Officer of Cognisens Athletics Inc. who produces the commercial version of the NeuroTracker used in this study. In this capacity, he holds shares in the company. This does not alter our adherence to your journal policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Five steps of the 3D-MOT task: (a) presentation phase, where 8 spheres are shown in a 3D volume space; (b) indexing phase, where 4 spheres (targets) change color (red) and are highlighted by a halo for 1 second; (c) movement phase, where the targets indexed in stage b return to their original form and color and all spheres move for 8 seconds crisscrossing and bouncing off of each other and the virtual 3D volume cube walls that are not otherwise visible; and (d) identification phase, where the spheres come to a halt and the observer has to identify the 4 spheres originally indexed in phase (b). The spheres are individually tagged with a number so the observer can report the number; (e) Feedback was given to the observer.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Athletes and non-athletes speed thresholds for 3 trials.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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