The Acute and Chronic Effects of Dual-Task on the Motor and Cognitive Performances in Athletes: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Athletes must distribute their attention to many relevant cues during a match. Therefore, athletes’ ability to deal with dual-tasks may be different from the non-athlete population, demanding a deeper investigation within the sports domain. This study aimed to systematically review the acute and chronic effects of dual-tasks in motor and cognitive performances in athletes from different modalities. The search for articles followed all the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The keywords used were: “dual-task” OR “double task” OR “multi-task” OR “divided attention” OR “secondary task” OR “second task” AND “working memory” OR “visual” OR “decision making” OR “gaze behavior” OR “attention” AND “sports” OR “athletes” OR “players”. The Scopus, Pubmed, and Web of Science databases were screened for studies comparing single and dual-tasks, in which the participants were athletes competing at any level, and in which at least one of the following variables were investigated: working memory, decision-making, visual search behavior, perception, anticipation, attention, or motor tasks. Articles were screened using pre-defined selection criteria, and methodological quality was assessed by two researchers independently. Following the eligibility criteria, we included 18 articles in the review: 13 on the acute effects, and five on the chronic effects. This review showed that the acute effect of dual-tasks impairs the motor and cognitive performances of athletes (dual-task cost). However, training with dual-tasks (chronic effect) improved working memory skills and attentional control. We conclude that dual-tasks acutely and chronically impacts motor and cognitive performance.

Effects of a Cognitive-Motor Training on Anticipatory Brain Functions and Sport Performance in Semi-Elite Basketball Players

“…Indeed, for players of open sports such basketball, it is important to distribute attention between several cues in the environment [ 3 ] while simultaneously executing automatic motor action such as dribbling, characterizing dual-task demand [ 4 ]. CMT, by combining physical and cognitive exercises, has been proven to be more suitable than physical training alone to improve both cognitive and motor performance [ 5 ].…”

“…In this regard, there is extensive evidence that this type of CMT is more effective than sequential training [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. While the best type of exercise to be used is still a matter of debate, the cognitive–motor dual-task (CM-DT) training, by targeting executive functioning, seems to be more beneficial for cognitive functions than sequential training and physical training alone [ 5 ].…”

“…In athletes, the goal of CMT is to augment sports performance by targeting specific skills which are transferable to competitive sports and improve general cognitive abilities [ 10 ]. The cognitive functions usually targeted by CMT include perception [ 11 ], attention, concentration, reasoning, creative thinking, memory, and decision-making [ 5 ]; however, to the best of our knowledge, proactive cognitive functions [ 12 , 13 ] including inhibition and anticipation remain still to be investigated. These functions are crucial for several sports but are essential in open-skill sports where athletes are continuously exposed to dynamically changing scenarios and are prompted to prepare the best action at the appropriate time [ 14 ].…”

Ecological validity in exercise neuroscience research: A systematic investigation

“…Although this might work for individual CS sports activity such as tightrope walking (Leroy & Cheron, 2020), it may interfere with sports performance in OS sports due to movement restrictions. To combat this, a step towards a more ecologically valid experimental set‐up may be the implementation of exercises including dual task (Moreira et al, 2021) or decision‐making (Silva et al, 2020) elements that may serve as a well‐controllable measure to increase the complexity of mental processes subserving motor skill performance. Furthermore, social interaction, expressed through various domains such as cooperation or competition, may possibly modulate cortical processes.…”

The impact of pendular model on decision-making and tactical-technical performance of U18 male volleyball players

“…This approach is based on overloading the WM generating long-term beneficial adaptations to the DM, as has been recently postulated in the literature. 28 Similarly, technical-coordinative tasks are based on the execution of specific motor actions (such as passing or SE) while being constrained by an additional coordinative task. In this case, the WM overload promotes positive adaptations in the motor execution through practice variability.…”