Cognitive functions of female open skill sport athletes, closed skill sport athletes and nonathletes

Abstract

Introduction. The cognitive functions usable in the sports performance are for example an ability to anticipate, perception and speed of movement reactions, decision-making ability or attention. These abilities or functions apply differently to different sports. It means that open skill sports such as team sports, require the coordination of complex bodily movements and adaptation to continually changing task demands.The aim of this study is to identify differences in the level of female's cognitive functions regarding the chosenopen skill sportsand closed skill sport disciplines. Material and Methods. The research group consisted of 84 women aged 22.70±1.71 years. Women were divided into three groups in terms of sport discipline into: female engaged in closed skill sport disciplines (n=26), in open skill sport disciplines (n=19) and not engaged in any sport activity (n=39). We used standardized S-test to determine the level of cognitive functions. It is a test of spatial orientation and concentration of attention with accentuated demands on the pace of activity. Results. The results have shown that female engaged in open skill sport disciplines have shown higher level of cognitive functions than female engaged in closed skill sport disciplines (p=0.04) and also as nonathletes (p=0.02). There was no difference in cognitive function between female engaged in closed skill sport disciplines and nonathletes. Conclusions. Our results confirm the theory of different involvement of cognitive functions from the point of view of different types of sport disciplines.

Keywords

• concentration of attention
• spatial orientation
• individual sport disciplines
• team sport disciplines