The influence of sport type and acute stress on biological motion working memory: Adaptive neuro-behavioral...

Biological motion working memory (BMWM) plays a crucial role in athletes' dynamic information processing. Despite evidence of cognitive benefits from athletic training, the combined effects of sport type and acute stress on BMWM remain underexplored. This study investigated behavioral and neural responses during BMWM processing among open-skill athletes, closed-skill athletes, and non-specialized participants, with a focus on the moderating effects of acute stress.

Sixty-five healthy male participants (21 closed-skill athletes, 18 open-skill athletes, and 26 non-specialized participants) completed the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST) followed by a BMWM task under both control and stress conditions. Behavioral performance (reaction time, accuracy) and event-related potential (ERP) components (P1, N2pc, N2, P3, NSW) were assessed.

Open-skill athletes had the shortest reaction time in the BMWM task, with no significant accuracy differences between groups. Across all groups, reaction times were shorter in the acute stress condition; however, only open-skill group demonstrated higher accuracy during this phase. Together with their faster reaction times, the smaller negative-going N2pc and lower P3 amplitudes observed under the control condition were consistent with the neural efficiency hypothesis. They also showed larger negative-going NSW amplitudes, suggesting stronger maintenance of task-relevant representations. In the post-stress condition, open-skill athletes showed larger P3 amplitudes, whereas closed-skill athletes and non-specialized participants showed no comparable changes. Stress mindset analysis revealed that individuals with a positive stress mindset responded faster after stress, with athletes outperforming non-specialized participants.

These findings suggest that sport type, stress mindset, and task-specific cognitive demands may be related to biological motion working memory performance under acute stress. In the present task context, open-skill athletes showed a more adaptive pattern of post-stress behavioral and ERP responses, which may provide insight into sport-type-related differences in dynamic information processing following acute stress.