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Executive Functions Predict the Success of Top-Soccer Players

While the importance of physical abilities and motor coordination is non-contested in sport, more focus has recently been turned toward cognitive processes important for different sports. However, this line of studies has often investigated sport-specific cognitive traits, while few studies have foc...

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Autores principales: Vestberg, Torbjörn, Gustafson, Roland, Maurex, Liselotte, Ingvar, Martin, Petrovic, Predrag
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3319604/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22496850
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0034731
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author Vestberg, Torbjörn
Gustafson, Roland
Maurex, Liselotte
Ingvar, Martin
Petrovic, Predrag
author_facet Vestberg, Torbjörn
Gustafson, Roland
Maurex, Liselotte
Ingvar, Martin
Petrovic, Predrag
author_sort Vestberg, Torbjörn
collection PubMed
description While the importance of physical abilities and motor coordination is non-contested in sport, more focus has recently been turned toward cognitive processes important for different sports. However, this line of studies has often investigated sport-specific cognitive traits, while few studies have focused on general cognitive traits. We explored if measures of general executive functions can predict the success of a soccer player. The present study used standardized neuropsychological assessment tools assessing players' general executive functions including on-line multi-processing such as creativity, response inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. In a first cross-sectional part of the study we compared the results between High Division players (HD), Lower Division players (LD) and a standardized norm group. The result shows that both HD and LD players had significantly better measures of executive functions in comparison to the norm group for both men and women. Moreover, the HD players outperformed the LD players in these tests. In the second prospective part of the study, a partial correlation test showed a significant correlation between the result from the executive test and the numbers of goals and assists the players had scored two seasons later. The results from this study strongly suggest that results in cognitive function tests predict the success of ball sport players.
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spelling pubmed-33196042012-04-11 Executive Functions Predict the Success of Top-Soccer Players Vestberg, Torbjörn Gustafson, Roland Maurex, Liselotte Ingvar, Martin Petrovic, Predrag PLoS One Research Article While the importance of physical abilities and motor coordination is non-contested in sport, more focus has recently been turned toward cognitive processes important for different sports. However, this line of studies has often investigated sport-specific cognitive traits, while few studies have focused on general cognitive traits. We explored if measures of general executive functions can predict the success of a soccer player. The present study used standardized neuropsychological assessment tools assessing players' general executive functions including on-line multi-processing such as creativity, response inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. In a first cross-sectional part of the study we compared the results between High Division players (HD), Lower Division players (LD) and a standardized norm group. The result shows that both HD and LD players had significantly better measures of executive functions in comparison to the norm group for both men and women. Moreover, the HD players outperformed the LD players in these tests. In the second prospective part of the study, a partial correlation test showed a significant correlation between the result from the executive test and the numbers of goals and assists the players had scored two seasons later. The results from this study strongly suggest that results in cognitive function tests predict the success of ball sport players. Public Library of Science 2012-04-04 /pmc/articles/PMC3319604/ /pubmed/22496850 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0034731 Text en Vestberg et al. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Vestberg, Torbjörn
Gustafson, Roland
Maurex, Liselotte
Ingvar, Martin
Petrovic, Predrag
Executive Functions Predict the Success of Top-Soccer Players
title Executive Functions Predict the Success of Top-Soccer Players
title_full Executive Functions Predict the Success of Top-Soccer Players
title_fullStr Executive Functions Predict the Success of Top-Soccer Players
title_full_unstemmed Executive Functions Predict the Success of Top-Soccer Players
title_short Executive Functions Predict the Success of Top-Soccer Players
title_sort executive functions predict the success of top-soccer players
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3319604/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22496850
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0034731
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