This study aimed to examine the role of working memory and visual attention for tracking expertise in different sports.

What Was Studied

Two experiments were performed. In the experiment 1 (assessment-only), 31 male and female experienced athletes (av. 22 years old) were divided into high-tracking and low-tracking sports, e.g. soccer vs swimming. They completed 3 assessment blocks (9 trials each) of the Jardine and Seiffert 2D MOT task, using 2, 3 and 4 targets at slow, medium and fast fixed speeds. Eye tracking behavior was recorded during the task. In experiment 2, 36 participants (similar to experiment 1) were divided into a control and active group. Pre and post training, both groups completed the same 2D MOT assessment with eye tracking, as well as 2 types of n-back working memory assessments (combined visual and auditory demands). The active group completed a training intervention of 4 NeuroTracker sessions (20 trials each), using adaptive speed adjustments, whereas the control did not.

What Was Found

In Experiment 1, analysis of eye tracking data revealed that directing gaze towards the center of the screen (centroid strategy) was a beneficial strategy for achieving higher tracking performance. This was independent of changes in task difficulty, and there were no significant group differences in gaze strategy between low and high tracking sports. High tracking sports did show superior tracking performance overall, suggesting that tracking ability is more related to perceptual-cognitive capacities than differences in gaze strategy. In experiment 2, the active group experienced a large improvement in both NeuroTracker scores and working memory performance post-training, including a 35% increase in WM accuracy. Training also transferred to significantly improved performance on the 2D MOT assessment. Controls showed no significant changes in pre-post assessments. Gaze strategy did not change post-training, suggesting that training benefits were isolated to gains in perceptual-cognitive capacities.

Takeaways

Experiments 1 and 2 together suggest that tracking performance in sports is largely related to perceptual-cognitive capacities, and that NeuroTracker training dramatically improves working memory abilities. This research also provides validation support for a central gaze strategy (related to visual pivot) in sports tracking performance.

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Reference: David Harris et al. ‘Examining the roles of working memory and visual attention in multiple object tracking expertise’ Cognitive Processing 21, 209-222, 2020.

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