ArticleBMC psychology2024
Improvements in executive functions by domain-specific cognitive training in youth elite soccer players.
Article in BMC psychology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparative effects of ball sports on executive function subdomains in children and adolescents: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Sport-specific impacts of ball games on adolescent brain function: a network meta-analysis of executive cognitive tasks.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Attentional mechanisms in light training tasks.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Does the "learning effect" caused by digital devices exaggerate sports visual training outcomes? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Review
- Examination of the influence of stimuli eccentricity on the inhibitory control in a simon task within virtual reality.PloS one · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study examined the impact of sport-specific cognitive training (CT) on executive functions (EFs) in youth soccer players. Thirty-one athletes (13-15 years) participated, 13 in the intervention group (IG) and 18 in the control group (CG). The IG underwent an 8-week soccer-focused CT program, while the CG maintained regular training. The assessments included working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility tasks. The results revealed no significant improvements in EFs in the IG compared to those in the CG. Both groups showed enhanced cognitive flexibility, possibly due to general cognitive development or learning effects. The study suggested that an 8-week sport-specific CT may not enhance EFs in young soccer players, potentially due to a ceiling effect in highly skilled athletes. These findings should be considered when designing cognitive training programs for athletes, and future research could explore the optimal duration of such programs.
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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.