Modulatory mechanisms of long-term volleyball practice on visuospatial working memory capacity: an fNIRS study

Visuospatial working memory capacity is crucial for daily life and various cognitive processes. Previous studies have shown that physical training not only improves physical fitness but also visual visuospatial working memory capacity. However, few studies have explored visuospatial working memory improvement and brain plasticity changes with long-term volleyball exercise. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to gain insight into whether there is a relationship between long-term volleyball practice and visuospatial working memory and the effects on the prefrontal lobes of the brain.

Neural correlates of visuospatial working memory in elite (n = 23; raining age mean: 8.27 ± 1.75 years; age: 21.07 ± 1.58 years) and novice (n = 23; raining age mean: 1.81 ± 0.56 years; age: 20.53 ± 1.36 years) volleyball athletes are examined to uncover potential skill-based differences. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data from 46 participants performing visuospatial working memory test reveal compelling results.

Compared with the novice group, the experts showed a higher accuracy rate (ACC) (p = 0.021) and shorter reaction time (RT) (p = 0.019) in the visuospatial working memory test. fNIRS data showed increased oxygen activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal lobe (p < 0.05) and the right frontal region (p < 0.05).

Studies have shown that long-term volleyball training can significantly enhance individuals' visuospatial working memory capacity. This enhancement was mainly reflected in the fact that athletes who participated in long-term volleyball training demonstrated faster operational processing speed and higher accuracy in visuospatial working memory tasks, and plasticity changes in dorsolateral prefrontal and prefrontal pole regions. We also found no significant linear relationship between specific brain activation and behavioral performance in expert athletes.