Domain-specific cognitive benefits in rugby athletes

Abstract

Introduction: Here we aim to explore how sports expertise affects cognitive functioning by examining the putative differences between professional athletes, amateur athletes, and non-athletes in different cognitive tasks. Whilst it is well known that physical exercise benefits cognition, there is scant research concerning how contact sports might hinder the positive sports-cognition relationship. Here we delve deeper into whether different levels of sports expertise might lead to variations in cognitive performance and how these are manifest in rugby – a contact sport. Methods: Neuropsychological tasks were employed to assess three cognitive functions: Visuospatial Memory (Corsi block task), Attention (d2 test of attention), and Inhibitory Control (Go/No-go Task). We recruited 67 participants aged 19 to 31 years, distributed across three groups: Group 1, comprising professional rugby players from the Portuguese national team (n=23); Group 2, consisting of amateur rugby players from Portuguese rugby clubs (n=22); and Group 3, composed of non-athletes who did not engage in regular sports activities (n=22). Results: There were no differences between professional athletes, amateur athletes, and non-athletes in the attention domain... However, there were differences in visuospatial working memory. Professional and amateur athletes had higher scores compared to nonathletes. Regarding inhibitory control, the inverse efficiency score (IES) revealed no group differences. However, there were variations in d' prime scores, surprisingly suggesting that non-athletes were more sensitive to the signal than both amateur and professional athletes. There were no differences, in inhibitory control observed between professional and amateur athletes. Conclusion: In this study, we explored the impact of sports expertise, particularly in professional and amateur rugby players, on cognitive functions. We found no significant differences in cognitive performance between these athlete groups but observed differences when comparing athletes with non-athletes, in specific cognitive domains affected by rugby sports expertise. While visuospatial memory was improved in rugby players, other cognitive domains such as attention and inhibitory control, remained unaffected. This complex relationship needs further research to optimize sports-specific cognitive deficits and safeguard athletes from potential cognitive impacts derived from contact sports.

Date of Award	22 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ana Maria Abreu (Supervisor)