The model of the brain as a complex system: Interactions of physical, neural and mental states with neurocognitive functions.

The isolated approaching of physical, neural and mental states and the binary classification into stable traits and fluctuating states previously lead to a limited understanding concerning underlying processes and possibilities to explain, measure and regulate neural and mental performance along with the interaction of mental states and neurocognitive traits. In this article these states are integrated by i) differentiating the model of the brain as a complex, self-organizing system, ii) showing possibilities to measure this model, iii) offering a classification of mental states and iv) presenting a holistic operationalization of state regulations and trait trainings to enhance neural and mental high-performance on a macro- and micro scale. This model integrates current findings from the theory of constructed emotions, the theory of thousand brains and complex systems theory and yields several testable hypotheses to provide an integrated reference frame for future research and applied target points to regulate and enhance performance.

The structure of cognitive strategies for wayfinding decisions.

Literature proposes five distinct cognitive strategies for wayfinding decisions at intersections. Our study investigates whether those strategies rely on a generalized decision-making process, on two frame-specific processes-one in an egocentric and the other in an allocentric spatial reference frame, and/or on five strategy-specific processes. Participants took six trips along a prescribed route through five virtual mazes, each designed for decision-making by a particular strategy. We found that wayfinding accuracy on trips through a given maze correlated significantly with the accuracy on trips through another maze that was designed for a different reference frame (rbetween-frames = 0.20). Correlations were not significantly higher if the other maze was designed for the same reference frame (rwithin-frames = 0.19). However, correlations between trips through the same maze were significantly higher than those between trips through different mazes that were designed for the same reference frame (rwithin-maze = 0.52). We conclude that wayfinding decisions were based on a generalized cognitive process, as well as on strategy-specific processes, while the role of frame-specific processes-if any-was relatively smaller. Thus, the well-established dichotomy of egocentric versus allocentric spatial representations did not translate into a similar, observable dichotomy of decision-making.

Choice between decision-making strategies in human route-following.

To follow a prescribed route, we must decide which way to turn at intersections. To do so, we can memorize either the serial order of directions or the associations between spatial cues and directions ("at the drug store, turn left"). Here, we investigate which of these two strategies is used if both are available. In Task S, all intersections looked exactly alike, and participants therefore had to use the serial order strategy to decide which way their route continued. In Task SA, each intersection displayed a unique spatial cue, and participants therefore could use either strategy. In Task A, each intersection displayed a unique cue, but the serial order of cues varied between trips, and participants therefore had to use the associative cue strategy. We found that route-following accuracy increased from trip to trip, was higher on routes with 12 rather than 18 intersections, and was higher on Task SA than on the other two tasks, both with 12 and with 18 intersections. Furthermore, participants on Task SA acquired substantial knowledge about the serial order of directions as well as about cue-direction associations, both with 12 and with 18 intersections. From this we conclude that, when both strategies were available, participants did not pick the better one but rather used both. This represents dual encoding, a phenomenon previously described for more elementary memory tasks. We further conclude that dual encoding may be implemented even if the memory load is not very high (i.e., even with only 12 intersections).

Mechanisms underlying superior memory of skilled climbers in indoor bouldering.

INTRODUCTION: Bouldering is an Olympic climbing discipline that encompasses short climbing sequences, referred to as boulders, set up on low-height bouldering walls. Memory plays a critical role in bouldering, as it allows climbers to develop climbing strategies, to mentally rehearse climbing movements, and to recall climbing holds of boulders. This study extends previous research on memory in climbing and bouldering with the purpose to elucidate potential mechanisms underlying superior memory abilities of skilled climbers. METHODS: Sixty climbers with intermediate (n = 20), advanced (n = 20), or elite (n = 20) skill levels were tasked to memorise the climbing holds and movements of a boulder, set up on a spray wall and demonstrated by a bouldering expert. RESULTS: Findings revealed a positive relation between the participants' bouldering skills and sport-specific movement knowledge and both, the number of climbing holds and movements they were able to memorise following a two-minute rehearsal period. CONCLUSION: Consistent with previous research, bouldering expertise is positively associated with the ability to memorise domain-specific information. Superior memory abilities among skilled climbers appear to be associated with climbing-specific movement knowledge, coupled with better mental visualisation and increased attentional focus towards functional aspects of boulders.

Head movement direction in football - a field study on visual scanning activity during the UEFA-U17 and -U21 European Championship 2019.

Visual exploration (scanning) of one's environment is a key aspect in team sports. Based on Gibson's (1979) ecological approach of visual perception, this study aims to advance the understanding of scanning by focusing on the direction of head movements in football and its implications for subsequent on-ball actions. The video-based data analysis consisted of nine selected matches and 162 players of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) U17 and U21 European Championship 2019. The results indicate that the direction of the last scan prior to receiving the ball is related to the foot used for the first ball contact. This relationship was further analysed in view of the game context (direction of play and opponent pressure) and with information about the player's dominant foot. The findings reveal a relationship between the direction of the last scan before receiving the ball and the direction the game is proceeded in. Further, when a player performs the last scan to the side of their dominant foot, the probability increases that their dominant foot is used for the subsequent first ball contact. Depending on the direction of the last scan, opponent pressure had various effects on the foot used for the first contact.

Analysis of contextualized intensity in Men's elite handball using graph-based deep learning.

Manual annotation of data in invasion games is a costly task which poses a natural limit on sample sizes and the level of granularity used in match and performance analyses. To overcome this challenge, this work introduces FAUPA-ML, a Framework for Automatic Upscaled Performance Analysis with Machine Learning, which leverages graph neural networks to scale domain-specific expert knowledge to large data sets. Networks were trained using position data of match phases (counter/position attacks), annotated manually by domain experts in 10 matches. The best network was applied to contextualize N = 539 matches of elite handball (2019/20-2021/22 German Men's Handball Bundesliga) with 86% balanced accuracy. Distance covered, speed, metabolic power, and metabolic work were calculated for attackers and defenders and differences between counters and position attacks across seasons analyzed with an ANOVA. Results showed that counter attacks are shorter, less frequent and more intense than position attacks and that attacking is more intense than defending. Findings show that FAUPA-ML generates accurate replications of expert knowledge that can be used to gain insights in performance analysis previously deemed infeasible. Future studies can use FAUPA-ML for large-scale, contextualized analyses that investigate influences of team strength, score-line, or team tactics on performance.

Investigating the impact age has on within-over and death bowling performances in international level 50-over cricket.

The aims of this investigation were to determine if ageing effects were present in elite international level cricket. Ball-by-ball data were analysed for 96 bowlers in the 50-Over World Cup 2019. Bowlers were categorized into 1 of 3 age groups GROUP 1 (18-24), GROUP 2 (25-31) and GROUP 3 (32+). Ordinal Logistic Regressions (OLR) and Multinomial Logistic Regressions (MLR) were conducted to estimate the relationship between age and bowling performances. OLR Results revealed that younger bowlers were significantly more likely to concede a greater number of runs on the last ball of their overs than their older counterparts (p = 0.001). A separate MLR analysis was conducted for those bowlers entrusted to bowl during the "death" phase of an innings, and results revealed that GROUP 2 bowlers were significantly more likely to take wickets than either GROUP 1 (p = 0.021) or GROUP 3 (p = 0.022) bowlers. The evidence indicates that wicket taking "death bowlers" will likely perform at their peak between the ages of 25-31, which could inform the bowling strategy of team captains. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that younger bowlers are not as skilled as their older counterparts at restricting runs conceded.

Analysis of Motion Characteristics and Metabolic Power in Elite Male Handball Players.

While handball is characterized by repeated sprints and changes of direction, traditional player load models do not consider accelerations and decelerations. The aim of this study was to analyze the differences between metabolic power and speed zones for player load assessment with regard to the player role. Position data from 330 male individuals during 77 games from the 2019/20 German Men's Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) were analyzed, resulting in 2233 individual observations. Players were categorized into wings, backs and pivots. Distance covered in different speed zones, metabolic power, metabolic work, equivalent distance (metabolic work divided by energy cost of running), time spend running, energy spend running, and time over 10 and 20 W were calculated. A 2-by-3 mixed ANOVA was calculated to investigate differences and interactions between groups and player load models. Results showed that total distance was longest in wings (3568 ± 1459 m in 42 ± 17 min), followed by backs (2462 ± 1145 m in 29 ± 14 min), and pivots (2445 ± 1052 m in 30 ± 13 min). Equivalent distance was greatest in wings (4072.50 ± 1644.83 m), followed by backs (2765.23 ± 1252.44 m), and pivots (2697.98 ± 1153.16 m). Distance covered and equivalent distance showed moderate to large interaction effects between wings and backs (p < .01, ES = 0.73) and between wings and pivots (p < .01, ES = 0.86) and a small interaction effect between backs and pivots (p < .01, ES = 0.22). The results underline the need for individualized management of training loads and the potential of using information about locomotive accelerations and decelerations to obtain more precise descriptions of player load during handball game performance at the highest level of competition. Future studies should investigate the influence of physical performance on smaller match sequences, like ball possession phases.

Clarifying the effect of facial emotional expression on inattentional blindness.

Conscious perception often fails when an object appears unexpectedly and our attention is focused elsewhere (inattentional blindness). While various factors have been identified that modulate the likelihood of this failure of awareness, the semantic value of facial emotional expression of the unexpected stimulus is not clear. A total of 457 participants performed a static or a dynamic inattentional blindness paradigm with one of three face icons as the unexpected stimulus. Whereas we only found an effect of frowning faces semantic value on its conscious detection in the static paradigm, we found in both paradigms a substantial effect of frowning as well as happy faces semantic value on their conscious identification. Thus, we assume that the semantic value of unexpected stimuli, based on facial emotional expressions, controls attentional prioritization and influences inattentional blindness. Furthermore, we argue that every finding in inattentional blindness research should be considered in its respective context.

Does hunger promote the detection of foods? The effect of value on inattentional blindness.

Although human perception has evolved into a potent and efficient system, we still fall prey to astonishing failures of awareness as we miss an unexpected object in our direct view when our attention is engaged elsewhere (inattentional blindness). While specific types of value of the unexpected object have been identified to modulate the likelihood of this failure of awareness, it is not clear whether the effect of value on inattentional blindness can be generalized. We hypothesized that the combination of hunger and food-stimuli might increase a more general type of value so that food stimuli have a higher probability to be noticed by hungry participants than by satiated participants. In total, 240 participants were assigned towards a hungry (16 h of fasting) or satiated (no fasting) manipulation and performed afterward a static inattentional blindness task. However, we did not find any effect of value on inattentional blindness based on hunger and food stimuli. We speculate that different underlying mechanisms are involved for different types of value and that value manipulations need to be strong enough to ensure certain value strengths.

Defending in 4-4-2 or 5-3-2 formation? small differences in footballers' collective tactical behaviours.

This study explored footballers' tactical behaviours, based on their position data, as an effect of two defending formations, 4-4-2 and 5-3-2, using an experimental approach. Sixty-nine youth footballers participated in this 11-versus-11 study, performing 72 trials of attack-versus-defence. Players' position data were tracked using a local positioning system, and processed to calculate measures of collective movement. This was supplemented by the analysis of passing networks. The results showed small differences between the two conditions. Compared to a 4-4-2 formation, defending in 5-3-2 reduced dispersion (-0.69 m,p=0.012), midfield-forward distance (-0.81 m, p=0.047), and defence-forward distance (-1.29 m, p=0.038); the consequent effects on attacking teams included reduced team widths (-1.78 m, p=0.034), reduced necessity for back-passes to the goalkeeper, and less connectivity in the passing network. The effects of the two defending formations seem to have the greatest impact on fullbacks of the attacking teams, since they were main contributors of the reduced team widths, received more passes, and had higher betweenness centrality in the right-back position during 5-3-2 defending. In summary, the present study potentially demonstrates how the underlying mechanisms in players' collective movements and passing behaviours show that the 5-3-2 is more conservatively defensive than the 4-4-2.

Substitutions in football - what coaches think and what coaches do.

Substitutions are probably the most important opportunity for football coaches to actively influence a match in progress. The present article presents two studies investigating substitutions in football from two different methodological perspectives: Study I, a survey reporting the opinions of 73 licensed coaches, and Study II, data-based analysis of a total of 41,301 substitutions from 7,230 matches in seasons 2014/15 to 2018/19 of the top four European football leagues. The coaches stated to prefer offensive substitutions over defensive substitutions and additionally indicated that changing the current score was more likely to be a reason for substitution than keeping the score. The analysis of the data revealed that not offensive, but neutral substitutions, where the player is replaced by a player of the same playing position, were most frequent. However, offensive players participated significantly more frequently in substitutions. In addition, a high level of score dependence was found, as more than half of the defensive substitutions were made while winning and more than half of the offensive substitutions were made while losing. The present study sheds light on the substitution behaviour of coaches in football and intends to stimulate discussion on the optimal timing and the type of substitutions.

Seam or swing? Identifying the most effective type of bowling variation for fast bowlers in men's international 50-over cricket.

In this study, 13,176 balls bowled by international level fast bowlers were analysed in order to investigate the relationship between the types of delivery and their effectiveness. The results of Chi-Squared analyses revealed significant associations between the type of delivery and runs conceded (p < 0.001) as well as wickets taken (p < 0.001). Seam movement was revealed to be more effective than swing bowling at both producing dot balls and taking wickets. Specifically, balls that 'seam-away" were revealed to be the most effective for bowling dots and "seam-in" for taking wickets. The "away-swinger" resulted in significantly greater than expected dot balls as did the "in-swinger" but only the in-swinger resulted in significantly greater than expected wickets. Both the "off-cutter" and "slower-balls" were revealed to result in significantly fewer than expected dot balls but significantly greater than expected wickets, implying bowlers must assess for themselves the risk versus reward of these two types of variation. Balls with no-movement were revealed to have no significant relationship with runs conceded, but did result in significantly fewer than expected wickets. Evidence suggests that lateral movement is crucial to bowling success with seam movement revealed to be more effective than swing.

Modeling Players' Scanning Activity in Football.

The purpose of this study was to develop and test models of scanning activity in football. Gibson's ecological approach of visual perception and exploratory activity provided the theoretical framework for the models. The video-based data analysis consisted of 17 selected matches and 239 players of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) U17 and U19 European Championship 2018 and the UEFA U17 and U21 European Championship 2019. The results showed a positive relation between scanning frequency and successful passes, as well as changes in body orientation. Scanning frequency was also related to a player's appearances in national teams and to opponent pressure. Opponent pressure had a large effect on pass result and the player's body orientation. Previous research on the relation between scanning frequency and performance was extended by several contextual predictors. Future research should focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the relation between scanning frequency and further contextual variables related to scanning.

Clarifying the effect of facial emotional expression on inattentional blindness.

Conscious perception often fails when an object appears unexpectedly and our attention is focused elsewhere (inattentional blindness). While various factors have been identified as determinants of inattentional blindness, the influence of an unexpected object́s semantic value remains ambiguous. This is also true for the supposedly evolutionary meaning of faces; some studies found higher detection rates for faces while others did not or used control conditions that differed in physical aspects of the stimulus as well. In the proposed studies we aim to replicate and clarify the effect of the semantic value of faces on inattentional blindness in a controlled and systematic manner.

Perceptual-cognitive processes underlying creative expert performance in soccer.

Creativity is one of the key parts of expert performance in sport and other domains. The aim of this study was to determine the underlying perceptual and cognitive processes that underpin creative expert performance in the sport of soccer. Forty skilled adult soccer players participated. In the experimental task, they interacted with representative video-based 11 vs. 11 attacking situations whilst in possession of a ball. Clips were occluded at a key moment and participants were required to play the ball in response to each presented scenario as they would in a real-game situation. Moreover, they were required to name other additional actions they could execute for each situation. Their solutions on the task were measured using the three observation criteria for creativity of originality, flexibility, and fluency of decisions. Using these criteria, players were categorized into either high- or low-creative groups. Visual search and cognitive thought processes were recorded during the task using a portable eye-movement registration system and retrospective verbal reports. The creativity-based between-group differences in decision making were underpinned by differences in visual search strategy. Compared to the low-creative group, the high-creative players made more fixations of shorter duration in a different sequential order and to more task-relevant locations of the display, indicating a broader attentional focus. They also generated a greater number of verbal reports of thoughts related to the assessment of the current task situation and planning of future decisions when compared with the low-creative players. Our findings highlight the perceptual-cognitive processes that underlie creative expert performance in a sport-specific domain.

A New Approach for Training-load Quantification in Elite-level Soccer: Contextual Factors.

The aims of this study were to analyse the physical responses of professional soccer players during training considering the contextual factors of match location, season period, and quality of the opposition; and to establish prediction models of physical responses during training sessions. Training data was obtained from 30 professional soccer players from Spanish La Liga using global positioning technology (N=1365 performances). A decreased workload was showed during training weeks prior to home matches, showing large effects in power events, equivalent distance, total distance, walk distance and low-speed running distance. Also, the quality of the opposition also affected the training workload (p<0.05). All regression-models showed moderate effects, with an adjusted R2 of 0.37 for metabolic-work, 0.34 for total distance covered, 0.25 for high-speed running distance (18-21 km·h-1), 0.29 for very high-speed running distance (21-24 km·h-1), 0.22 for sprint running distance (>24 km·h-1) and 0.34 for equivalent distance. The main finding of this study was the great association of match location, season period and quality of opposition on the workload performed by players in the training week before the match; and the development of workload prediction-models considering these contextual factors, thus proposing a new and innovative approach to quantify the workload in soccer.

The influence of randomness on goals in football decreases over time. An empirical analysis of randomness involved in goal scoring in the English Premier League.

Performance analysis in football predominantly focuses on systematic contributions to success, thus neglecting the role of randomness. The present paper pursues a direct approach to quantify and analyse randomness in football by identifying random influences in the goal scoring process. The dataset includes all matches from the seasons 12/13 to 18/19 of the English Premier League, adding up to a total of 7,263 goals, that were checked for the occurrence of six variables of random influence. Additionally, the influence of nine situational variables was investigated. Results show that randomness was present for almost 50% of all goals. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the proportion of random goals decreased over the seven seasons (p < .001), is more pronounced for weaker teams (p < .05) as well as if the current scoreline is a draw (p < .05) and depends on the match situation (open play, freekick, corner, penalty). An improved understanding of randomness in football has important implications for both researchers and practitioners. Performance analysts should acknowledge randomness as a crucial factor to distinguish clearly between performance and success. Coaches could even consider the conscious creation of uncontrollable situations as a possible tactic to provoke random influences on goal scoring.

The porous high-press? An experimental approach investigating tactical behaviours from two pressing strategies in football.

The aim of this study was to analyse footballers' tactical behaviours from their position data, as an effect of two contrasting pressing strategies, high-press defending and deep-defending, using a trial-based experimental approach. Sixty-nine youth footballers participated in this 11 versus 11 study, performing 72 trials of attack versus defence, in a counterbalanced crossover study design. Players' position data were captured using a local positioning system, and processed to calculate measures of inter-team distance, trial duration, distance to nearest opponent, dispersion, team length, team width, team shape, space control gain, inter-line distance, and individual area. This was augmented by the notational analyses of passes. The findings showed that using a high-press defending strategy leads to: closer inter-team distance; larger dispersion, due to a longer team length; and larger inter-line distances between defenders, midfielders, and forwards. The resulting effects on the attacking team include reduced ball possession time; larger individual areas for attacking midfielders and forwards; longer team length; and more penetrative passes performed. Some differences in marking behaviour were also observed. Consequently, the study recommends that high-press defending be used sparingly due to these trade-offs.

Video assistant referees (VAR): The impact of technology on decision making in association football referees.

The use of technology has been proposed to improve decision-making in sport officials. The implementation of the video Assistant Referee (VAR) in association football is one example of how technology can be used to assist decision making, although its impact remains unknown. In 2195 competitive football matches across 13 countries, the VAR conducted 9732 checks for potential match-changing incidents, with the median duration of a check being 22 seconds. The checks resulted in a total of 795 reviews, with a median duration of 62.0 s for on-field reviews (N = 534) and 15.0 s for VAR-only reviews (N = 261).We report that the predictive odds for making the correct decision after VAR intervention were significantly higher than for the initial referee's decision, with accuracy increasing from 92.1% to 98.3%. Findings have implications for the current debate about the introduction of technology in association football and may help set guidelines regarding the use of technology across other sports and professional domains.