ReviewBrain sciences2020
Converging Evidence Supporting the Cognitive Link between Exercise and Esport Performance: A Dual Systematic Review.
Review in Brain sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- The Effects of Excessive Arousing Video Gaming on vmHRV During Sleep in Habitual Gamers.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Trial
- Combined Effect of HF-rTMS and Whole-Body Vibration Exercise on Cognitive Efficiency in Esports Players With or Without Sedentary Behaviors: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Brain and behavior · 2025Trial
- Changes in concentration performance and alternating attention after short-term virtual reality training in E-athletes: a pilot study.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Psychomotor Performance in Esports Players: A Comparative Study of Visual Reaction Time and Hand-Eye Coordination.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Beyond Performance: Cognitive Overload and Related Cognitive, Psychophysiological, and Performance States in Competitive Esports-A Scoping Review.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Integrating physical activity into esports practice: predicting mental well-being and cognitive fatigue through a dual SEM-XAI approach.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Editorial: Monitoring and promoting physical exercise and physical performance in esports players.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Enhanced predictive saccade strategies and spatial prediction accuracy in first-person shooter-specialized players.Frontiers in systems neuroscience · 2026Article
- Exploring associations between sleep duration and performance as well as heart rate variability in elite esports athletes.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Impact of Open-Skill Exercises and E-Sports on Cognitive Function: A Narrative Review of Their Role in Preventing Cognitive Decline and Dementia.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Differentiating right upper limb movements of esports players who play different game genres.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- From "online brains" to "online lives": understanding the individualized impacts of Internet use across psychological, cognitive and social dimensions.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2024Article
- It's about timing: how density can benefit future research on the optimal dosage of acute physical exercise breaks in esports.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2024Article
- Performance and physical activity. How playful activities implemented into training in Danish esports clubs influence players' performance experience.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024Article
- The Effect of Total Sleep Deprivation on the Cognitive and In-Game Performance of Rocket League Esport Players.Nature and science of sleep · 2024Article
- Playing for keeps or just playing with emotion? Studying tilt and emotion regulation in video games.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Caffeine improves the shooting performance and reaction time of first-person shooter esports players: a dose-response study.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024Article
- Can Intelligence Affect Alcohol-, Smoking-, and Physical Activity-Related Behaviors? A Mendelian Randomization Study.Journal of Intelligence · 2023Article
- Normative Performance Profiles of College Aged Esport Athletes in a Pilot Study.International journal of esports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
(1) Background: Research into action video games (AVG) has surged with the popularity of esports over the past three decades. Specifically, evidence is mounting regarding the importance of enhanced cognitive abilities for successful esports performance. However, due to the sedentary nature in which AVGs are played, concerns are growing with the increased engagement young adults have with AVGs. While evidence exists supporting the benefits of exercise for cognition generally in older adult, children and clinical populations, little to no work has synthesized the existing knowledge regarding the effect of exercise specifically on the cognitive abilities required for optimal esports performance in young adults. (2) Method: We conducted a dual-systematic review to identify the cognitive abilities integral to esports performance (Phase 1) and the efficacy of exercise to enhance said cognitive abilities (Phase 2). (3) Results: We demonstrate the importance of four specific cognitive abilities for AVG play (attention, task-switching, information processing, and memory abilities) and the effect that different types and durations of physical exercise has on each. (4) Conclusion: Together, these results highlight the role that exercise can have on not only combating the sedentary nature of gaming, but also its potential role in facilitating the cognitive aspects of gaming performance.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.