Characterizing psychological states in professional athletes through EEG: sex-based differences

The psychological states are essential to maintain a healthy balance and optimize performance, especially in athletes. Sex-related differences in elite athletes are one of the important factors, which are ambiguous. This study aims to explore sex differences in psychological states of 36 professional athletes (12M/24F, 21.6±3.9 y, 166.3±8.9 cm, 56.4±11.3 kg, mean±SD) in the lead-up to a major international competition using objective (quantitative electroencephalogram, QEEG) and subjective measures (Athletic Coping Skills Inventory, ASCI-28). Participants included fifteen gymnasts, eleven swimmers, and ten e-sports players. QEEG measurements were collected during 5 minutes at rest before athletes completed the ASCI-28 scale. Data were obtained during training camp within 3 months before the competition. QEEG data were analyzed using a generalized linear mixed modeling (GLMM) to report the linear predictor of QEEG in brain areas (random) and sex (fixed). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was applied to ACSI-28 subscales data to compare sex groups. Female athletes exhibited higher EEG activity in the theta power in the parietal and occipital areas and the beta power in the pre-frontal and temporal areas. Furthermore, significant sex differences were found in the coping with adversity (p =0.038) and goal setting/mental preparation subscales of the ACSI-28. The correlations between the QEEG and questionnaire scores were low to moderate correlations for female athletes, and moderate correlations for male athletes. A significant correlation was observed in both male and female athletes between activity in the temporal region within theta and beta frequency bands (QEEG), and the coping with aversity subscale (questionnaire). These findings provide valuable insights for sports psychologists to design appropriate psychological interventions and for future studies examining the impact of differential psychological interventions for male and female athletes to optimize well-being and performance.