ASSESSMENT OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL STATE AND HAND-EYE COORDINATION IN UNIVERSITY ESPORT PLAYERS AFTER PROGRESSIVE AEROBIC TRAINING

P. Pişirici¹, B. Çoban², S. Vargel¹, S. Gür Özmen¹

¹Bahçeşehir University, School of Health Sciences, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Department, Istanbul, Turkey, ²Bahçeşehir University, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Master's Program, Istanbul, Turkey

Background: Esports are played in a competitive and organized way in a virtual environment, individually or in teams. The major keys to performance in esports are tactical and cognitive abilities that depend on executive functions such as attention, perception, memory, and multitasking. It also requires skills that include fluent and coordinated movements, such as hand-eye coordination. Therefore, the reaction time among the players plays a decisive role in the performance. Esport players regularly train 5.5-10 hours a day in order to continue with maximum performance and improve their skills. The sedentary lifestyle negatively affects physical, mental, and spiritual health of the e-sports players.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of aerobic exercise training on reaction time, neuropsychological parameters and mood in e-sports players playing in university e-sports team.

Methods: Participants (n=26, 20,69±1.54y, all male) were randomly assigned to the aerobic exercise training group (EG) (n=13) and control group (CG) (n=13). The exercise group engaged in three sessions of aerobic training with treadmill per week for 6 weeks; the control group was asked to maintain their daily routines for 6 weeks. Reaction time by Optojump Next, neuropsychological batteries (Corsi Block Task, Stroop Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Fitts Law Test and Digit Span Test), aerobic exercise capacity (incrimental shuttle walk test) and anxiety level (Beck anxiety inventory) were evaluated at the baseline and 6-week marks with blind evaluator.

Results: There was no statistically significant difference in reaction time and neuropsychological tests between the EG and CG after aerobic exercisetraining. After the training, there was an increase in walking distance in the EG compared to the CG (p<0.019). In the EG, the Beck Depression score and (p=0.043) and Stroop Test time difference (p=0.045) after the training were significantly lower than the CG. In the in-group analysis performed in the EG, it was found that the walking distance of the participants increased significantly before and after the training (p<0.0001) and the Beck Anxiety scores were statistically decreased (p=0.016). In the linear regression analysis, the model explaining the change in visual reaction time before and after exercise training included participants' e-sports experiences (p=0.039) and weekly training hours (p=0.049). In the logistic regression analysis, it was seen that the change in the Beck Anxiety scores of the participants (p=0.04) was included in the model explaining the change in auditory reaction time before and after exercise training.

Conclusions: In our study, no effect of aerobic exercise on reaction time was observed. It was determined that visual reaction time was affected by esports experience and weekly training time, while auditory reaction time was affected by anxiety level. Studies with larger sample sizes are needed to examine the effect of aerobic exercise on reaction time in participants with a higher body mass index.

Implications: Esports players who want improvement in visual reaction time should increase their training time, esports players who want improvement in auditory reaction time should reduce their anxiety levels.

Funding acknowledgements: This study was supported by the Scientific Research Projects Office of Bahçesehir University (BAP.2022-01.28).

Keywords:
Executive Function
Cardiovascular Training
Performance Enhancing

Topics:
Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Cardiorespiratory
Mental health

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: Bahcesehir University

Committee: Clinical Researches Ethical Committee

Ethics number: E-22481095-020-401