Open and close-skill in sports performance: differences in cognitive profiles
30/11/2023 at 06:11:22
Author: Heloiana Karoliny Campos Faro
Blog
Sports performance has been calling attention from science due to many factors. Especially, the neuroscience of sports area has been trying to understand whether the athletes’ brain is “different” or “special” due to the long-term sports practice. Some theories were designed in order to explain the cognitive adaptations of sports. For instance, some pieces of evidence have been showing that sport expertise can induce functional brain changes which might facilitate the decision-making process during the sport. On the other hand, there is evidence that cognitive abilities are developed differently in each sport. Indeed, each sport has different demands, because the objective is different, although the similarities among them. Thus, as well as in the body, the brain adaptation for attending the sport demand might be different.
A starting point to understand the difference among the sport modalities is the classification of the motor ability, which can be open and close-skill. The open-skill sports are characterized by the body movements which are influenced by dynamic and external pace environment. The main examples are the collective sports, which involves many external factors which influence the decision-making of the athletes. Think: why most soccer teams prefer plays close to their football crowd? On the other hand, close-skill sports are characterized by consistent motor responses, with self-paced development. The main examples are time-trial sports, such as running, swimming, and cycling. Noteworthy, some specific moments on open-skill sports are characteristically close, and vice versa. For instance, the free throw on basketball is a close movement, despite this modality is considered open-skill.
An interesting study investigated whether inhibitory control response is different among open and close-skill athletes. The authors compare the reaction time on stop-signal reaction times (SSRTs) test among tennis players (open-skill sport; gray bar), swimming players (close-skill sport; red bar), and sedentary people (control group; green bar). Tennis athletes presented shorter reaction times than the other two groups, confirming the hypotheses that open-skill sports promote high benefits on open skill athletes.
Source: doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055773
Another interesting perspective is the proactive and reactive cognitive profile linked to each type of ability. Proactive control happens before the event/stimulus, which influences the optimization of attention, perception, and anticipatory action. On the other hand, the reactive control act after the event/stimulus influences the interference present in the cognitive actions. In general, proactive control has been linked to open-skill sports due to the unpredictability intrinsic in these sports, while the reactive control is linked to the close-skill sport which presents less unpredictability. A recent study conducted by Yu et al. aimed to compare brain activity on open vs. close-skill athletes with proactive and reactive stimuli. The researchers used the cued task-switching paradigm for investigating the cognitive control among badminton players (open-skill), track and field players (close-skill), and non-athletic (control), and the through the electroencephalogram (EEG) measuring three different event-related potentials: contingent negative variant (CNV), N200, and P300. Results presented that open-skilled athletes present less P300 amplitude on the parietal area, combined with better performances on task-switching in the predictive condition.
An interesting study investigated whether inhibitory control response is different among open and close-skill athletes. The authors compare the reaction time on stop-signal reaction times (SSRTs) test among tennis players (open-skill sport; gray bar), swimming players (close-skill sport; red bar), and sedentary people (control group; green bar). Tennis athletes presented shorter reaction times than the other two groups, confirming the hypotheses that open-skill sports promote high benefits on open skill athletes.
Source: doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055773
Another interesting perspective is the proactive and reactive cognitive profile linked to each type of ability. Proactive control happens before the event/stimulus, which influences the optimization of attention, perception, and anticipatory action. On the other hand, the reactive control act after the event/stimulus influences the interference present in the cognitive actions. In general, proactive control has been linked to open-skill sports due to the unpredictability intrinsic in these sports, while the reactive control is linked to the close-skill sport which presents less unpredictability. A recent study conducted by Yu et al. aimed to compare brain activity on open vs. close-skill athletes with proactive and reactive stimuli. The researchers used the cued task-switching paradigm for investigating the cognitive control among badminton players (open-skill), track and field players (close-skill), and non-athletic (control), and the through the electroencephalogram (EEG) measuring three different event-related potentials: contingent negative variant (CNV), N200, and P300. Results presented that open-skilled athletes present less P300 amplitude on the parietal area, combined with better performances on task-switching in the predictive condition.
In sum, these pieces of evidence suggest that specificity the athlete’s cognitive adaptions into the sport cognitive necessities. Futures studies should investigate the linked between the cognitive profile and the brain hemodynamic
References:
Yu et al. (2019). Neural processes of proactive and reactive controls modulated by motor-skill experiences. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00404
Wang et al. (2013). Open vs. Close skill sport and the modulation of inhibitory control. Plos One. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055773
References:
Yu et al. (2019). Neural processes of proactive and reactive controls modulated by motor-skill experiences. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00404
Wang et al. (2013). Open vs. Close skill sport and the modulation of inhibitory control. Plos One. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055773
Heloiana Faro
