Stressed minds, altered strategies: Acute stress impairs proactive control in table tennis athletes

Intense stress greatly affects athletes' mental state and performance, and cognitive control, which is vital for handling unexpected situations and maintaining peak performance. Although previous research has shown that acute stress can impact different aspects of cognitive control, the exact mechanisms and effects are still debated. This study aimed to investigate how acute stress impacts proactive and reactive control in table tennis players, providing new insights into the intricate role of stress in athletes' cognitive control.

Acute stress was induced in 25 male table tennis athletes using the Maastricht Acute Stress Task (MAST). Behavioral and electroencephalogram (EEG) data were recorded before and after acute stress exposure. The EEG data included both resting-state and task-related recordings. Functional connectivity analysis was conducted on the resting-state EEG data. Event-related potential (ERP) analysis was conducted on the task-related EEG data recorded during the AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT).

The behavioral results showed similar reaction times in table tennis athletes before and after acute stress, with AY trials showing significantly higher accuracy. The ERP results revealed a decrease in contingent negative variation (CNV) amplitude and increased N2 component but no significant difference was observed between the P3b and P3a components before and after acute stress. Functional connectivity analysis showed that acute stress activated the visual network and enhanced functional connectivity with multiple brain regions.

Acute stress induces large-scale activation of visual and salience networks while affecting the two modes of cognitive control, with reactive control predominating over proactive control. The weakening of proactive control by acute stress affected response preparation rather than pre-attention and stimuli processing, while the enhancement of reactive control resulted increased detection and monitoring of conflicting information. These findings shed light on how acute stress induces a neurocognitive shift in athletes, contributing to the advancement of the Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control (DMC) framework. This shift highlights the critical balance between proactive and reactive control under stress, offering valuable insights for developing interventions that optimize athletes' performance under high-pressure conditions.