The Impact Of Cognitive Training And Moderate Exercise On Attentional Processing In Collegiate Athletes

Cognitive Training (CT) is an emerging area of interest for improving sports performance by targeting core cognitive processes, such as attentional control, that fundamentally underlie performance. One CT technique, Episodic Specificity Induction (ESI), has been shown to improve cognitive functioning in the general population, though its effect on real-time attentional processing in athletes remains unknown. Moderate exercise (ME) is known to boost cognitive performance, suggesting a potential combined effect with CT. PURPOSE: This study examines how ESI and ME impact two real-time attention measures—selective attention and sustained attention—in collegiate athletes. METHODS: Fifty-seven Division II student-athletes participated in a mixed-subjects design with partial counterbalancing, in which each athlete completed two of four conditions, with a break in between: no ESI + no exercise, ESI + ME, ESI + no exercise, and no ESI + ME. Selective attention was assessed using response times (RTs) in a visual search task with varying numbers of distractors. Sustained attention was measured via accuracy rates on a sustained attention to response (SART) task. Data were analyzed using linear and logistics mixed-effects regressions to account for random effects of participants and trials, with fixed effects for CT (ESI vs Control) and ME (ME vs rest). The models were fit using restricted maximum likelihood estimation. RESULTS: Participants’ RTs on the visual search task were significantly faster after ME, β = -64.92, SE = 22.76, t = -2.85, p = .006. There was no effect of ESI on RTs. However, the interaction revealed faster RTs for participants in the ESI and ME, but only at lower levels of distractors. Moderate exercise alone was more beneficial as the number of distractors increased, β = 18.34, SE = 15.05, t = 4.45, p < .001. On the SART, ESI significantly increased accuracy rates, β = 0.22, SE = 0.10, z = 2.09, p = .04, increasing the odds of a correct response by 23.8%. No effect of ME or significant interaction was observed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that ME improves selective attention, particularly in more demanding conditions, ESI as a CT improves sustained attention. Moderate exercise and ESI may target distinct attentional processes, potentially offering complementary benefits for sports performance.