ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2025
Verify the effects of esports on cognitive skill: focusing on decision making.
Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of nutritional interventions on competitive performance and dose‒response relationships among esports players of different skill levels: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Exercise interventions and multidimensional cognitive function in esports players: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundElectronic sports (esports) are increasingly recognized as both a popular entertainment medium and a subject of scientific inquiry. Yet recent discussions have regarded esports as a threat to psychological and physical health and cognitive abilities of esports players. To examine this issue, this study investigated the effects of esports on brain activity associated with decision-making, focus, and stress.
methodsTwelve male fourth-semester students majoring in Physical Education, with no prior experience in esports, participated in this study (Mage = 20.08 years; SD = 0.74). Baseline EEG measurements were recorded during a 3-minute eyes-closed resting state, subsequently, the participants engaged in FIFA esport for a period of eight weeks. In each session, participants were randomly paired to play with one another following a draw. EEG data were recorded again under the same conditions at the end of the program.
resultsResults indicated significant changes in beta (p = 0.017), alpha (p = 0.002), and delta (p = 0.003) wave activity at the F3 brain region, with no substantial alterations observed in theta waves (p = 0.086).
conclusionsThese findings suggest that regular esports participation can induce measurable changes in neural activity patterns, providing insights into its potential influence on cognitive functions.
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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.