Effects of combined physical-cognitive exercise on attention control ability and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf) serum in male e-sports athletes
Abstract:
Attention performance is crucial in esports, affecting gameplay, decision-making, and reaction time. Enhancing attention is expected to improve esports performanceThe first study compared attentional abilities between 8 professional and 8 university MOBA players using attentional blink, visual search, and reaction light tests. Professionals showed higher accuracy (p = .033) in the attentional blink test and faster reaction times (p = .002) in the visual search test, with differences in response accuracy for varying object numbers but no variance in reaction light test timesThe second study examined the impact of combined physical-cognitive training on attention control ability and serum BDNF in 32 CU Open Esports Tournament participants, divided into four groups: Physical-Cognitive Exercise (PCE), Pure Physical Exercise (PE), Pure Cognitive Exercise (CE), and Control (C). Each group completed a 4-week, 8-session program. Acute effects showed significantly higher attentional blink accuracy for CE and PE compared to PCE and control (p = .014, .020 and p < .001, < .001 respectively), and CE having quicker visual search reaction times than others (p = .004). The 4-week training effects showed PCE, PE, and CE having higher attentional blink accuracy than control (p = .028, .008 and < .001 respectively). PCE and PE showed higher visual search accuracy than CE (p = .021, .003 respectively) but slower visual search reactions (p = .003, .004). A significant increase in serum BDNF was observed in PE after the first training session (p = .004) and then in PCE and PE after 4 weeks of training (p = .004, .024)In conclusion, professional esports players have higher attention control ability than university esports players. Combined physical-cognitive exercise training can significantly improve attentional performance in university esports players, which can be used to improve attention control ability and can be an alternative way to enhance esports playing or competing performance.