The Impact of Chinese Martial Arts Sanda Training on Cognitive Control and ERP: An EEG Sensors Study

Objective: This study aimed to explore the impact of sanda sports experience on cognitive control using electroencephalography (EEG). Methods: The study involved 38 male participants, including 19 sanda athletes with over 5 years of training and 19 ordinary college students. A 2 × 4 mixed experimental design was used, with group (sanda athletes vs. ordinary college students) as the between-subjects variable and four experimental conditions (consistent in the previous and current trials, consistent in the previous but inconsistent in the current trials, inconsistent in the previous but consistent in the current trials, and inconsistent in both previous and current trials) as the within-subjects variable. The classic color-word Stroop task was employed to measure cognitive control function through reaction time, accuracy, and event-related potential (ERP) amplitude. Results: Sanda athletes exhibited significantly shorter reaction times than ordinary college students across all conditions (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in accuracy between the two groups (p > 0.05). ERP results showed that sanda athletes had significantly larger amplitudes for the N200 and P300 components in incongruent trials compared to congruent trials (p < 0.05), and significantly larger N400 amplitudes in incongruent trials than ordinary college students (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Sanda athletes demonstrated faster response speed and enhanced cognitive control abilities, as indicated by ERP components, without sacrificing task accuracy.