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Mental Health and Cognitive Function in Elite Athletes around the Globe

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 February 2021) | Viewed by 5812

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jan Wilke

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Sports Sciences Department of Sports Medicine Ginnheimer Landstr. 39 60487 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Interests: Physical Activity and Public Health; Sports biomechanics; Neurocognitive Function and Movement

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research in sports has been particularly focused on technical-tactical skills and motor function. However, although both factors represent critical predictors of success, it has also been shown that mental health and cognitive function play a similarly important role: Firstly, many athletes face a variety of psychological stressors (e.g., concentration disturbances or sports anxiety) which may adversely affect performance and/or even lead to disorders such as depression or burnout. Secondly, particularly in game sports such as basketball, football, or handball, the ability to effectively move on the pitch or field could be strongly related to cognitive functions such as choice-reaction speed, inhibitory control, or working memory. This Special Issue aims to further delineate the impact of mental health and cognition in the elite athlete.

Keywords:

  • Mental health, psychological stressors, and coping skills in elite athletes
  • Interventions to improve performance or health of athletes by addressing/eliminating psychological stressors；
  • Relevance of neurocognitive function for sports performance；
  • Mental and cognitive markers of injury risk

Dr. Jan Wilke
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 288 KiB  
Article
Traditional Neuropsychological Testing Does Not Predict Motor-Cognitive Test Performance
by Jan Wilke, Oliver Vogel and Sandra Ungricht
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(20), 7393; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207393 - 11 Oct 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2111
Abstract
The ecological validity of neuropsychological testing (NT) has been questioned in the sports environment. A frequent criticism is that NT, mostly consisting of pen and paper or digital assessments, lacks relevant bodily movement. This study aimed to identify the determinants of a newly [...] Read more.
The ecological validity of neuropsychological testing (NT) has been questioned in the sports environment. A frequent criticism is that NT, mostly consisting of pen and paper or digital assessments, lacks relevant bodily movement. This study aimed to identify the determinants of a newly developed testing battery integrating both cognitive and motor demands. Twenty active individuals (25 ± 3 years, 11 males) completed the new motor-cognitive testing battery (MC), traditional NT (Stroop test, Trail Making test, Digit Span test) and isolated assessments of motor function (MF; Y-balance test, 20m-sprint, counter-movement jump). Kendal’s tau and partial Spearman correlations were used to detect associations between MC and NT/MF. Except for two items (Reactive Agility A and counter-movement jump; Run-Decide and sprint time; r = 0.37, p < 0.05), MC was not related to MF. Similarly, MC and NT were mostly unrelated, even when controlling for the two significant motor covariates (p > 0.05). The only MC item with (weak to moderate) associations to NT was the Memory Span test (Digit Span backwards and composite; r = 0.43–0.54, p < 0.05). In sum, motor-cognitive function appears to be largely independent from its two assumed components NT and MF and may represent a new parameter in performance diagnostics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mental Health and Cognitive Function in Elite Athletes around the Globe)

Review

Jump to: Research

13 pages, 456 KiB  
Review
Perceptual–Cognitive Function and Unplanned Athletic Movement Task Performance: A Systematic Review
by Jan Wilke, David Groneberg, Winfried Banzer and Florian Giesche
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(20), 7481; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207481 - 14 Oct 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3229
Abstract
The performance of choice-reaction tasks during athletic movement has been demonstrated to evoke unfavorable biomechanics in the lower limb. However, the mechanism of this observation is unknown. We conducted a systematic review examining the association between (1) the biomechanical and functional safety of [...] Read more.
The performance of choice-reaction tasks during athletic movement has been demonstrated to evoke unfavorable biomechanics in the lower limb. However, the mechanism of this observation is unknown. We conducted a systematic review examining the association between (1) the biomechanical and functional safety of unplanned sports-related movements (e.g., jumps/runs with a spontaneously indicated landing leg/cutting direction) and (2) markers of perceptual–cognitive function (PCF). A literature search in three databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar) identified five relevant articles. The study quality, rated by means of a modified Downs and Black checklist, was moderate to high (average: 13/16 points). Four of five papers, in at least one parameter, found either an association of PCF with task safety or significantly reduced task safety in low vs. high PCF performers. However, as (a) the outcomes, populations and statistical methods of the included trials were highly heterogeneous and (b) only two out of five studies had an adequate control condition (pre-planned movement task), the evidence was classified as conflicting. In summary, PCF may represent a factor affecting injury risk and performance during unplanned sports-related movements, but future research strengthening the evidence for this association is warranted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mental Health and Cognitive Function in Elite Athletes around the Globe)
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