Stressed minds, altered strategies: Acute stress impairs proactive control in table tennis athletes

Acute stress induces large-scale activation of visual and salience networks while affecting the two modes of cognitive control, with reactive control predominating over proactive control. The weakening of proactive control by acute stress affected response preparation rather than pre-attention and stimuli processing, while the enhancement of reactive control resulted increased detection and monitoring of conflicting information. These findings shed light on how acute stress induces a neurocognitive shift in athletes, contributing to the advancement of the Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control (DMC) framework. This shift highlights the critical balance between proactive and reactive control under stress, offering valuable insights for developing interventions that optimize athletes' performance under high-pressure conditions.