Evaluating a neural-efficiency account of the association between motor competence and attentional stability in preschoolers: An fNIRS study

Motor development and attentional control are closely intertwined during early childhood, yet the neural basis of this association remains insufficiently understood. Guided by an embodied-cognition framework, the present study examined the association between motor competence and task-based attentional stability and tested whether behavioral differences were accompanied by differences in prefrontal oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) responses. Sixty-two typically developing children aged 3-6 years completed the motor assessment and cancellation task. Behavioral analyses included all 62 children, whereas usable fNIRS data were available for 61 children after quality control. The results showed that (1) at the behavioral level, higher motor competence was associated with greater attentional stability; the descriptive subgroup pattern appeared more pronounced in the late-preschool group, although the age group × motor-competence level interaction was not statistically significant; and (2) at the neural level, none of the reported ROI regression coefficients for age group, motor-competence level, or their interaction reached statistical significance. Complementary channel-wise analyses revealed different suprathreshold activation patterns across age and motor-competence groups; however, these exploratory patterns did not provide direct evidence of spatial focalization or neural efficiency. The findings are therefore compatible with, but do not establish, a neural-efficiency account. By integrating behavioral and neuroimaging measures, the study provides evidence of an association between motor competence and task-based attentional stability.