Effects of imagery training on cognitive function among collegiate athletes: a randomized controlled trial

Cognitive functions are essential for athletic performance but are often compromised by fatigue, stress, and the combined demands of sport and academic study. Both physical exercise and motor imagery shown to influence cognition, but, their comparative acute effects remain underexplored in collegiate athletes. This study compared the effects of squat imagery, squat execution, and quiet rest on cognitive performance. Ninety-eight collegiate athletes were randomly assigned to a squat imagery group (30-min seated squat imagery; n = 36), a squat execution group (five sets of 1-min squats separated by 10-s rests; n = 32), or a control group (30-min seated rest; n = 30). Cognitive performance was assessed before and after the interventions using the Stroop, Flanker, Sternberg, and Visual Search tasks. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (group × time) was conducted, and the Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) procedure was applied to 18 primary interaction tests. Both squat imagery and execution improved cognitive performance, particularly inhibitory control and working memory. Significant group × time interactions were found for Stroop response time (simple and complex) and Sternberg response time (one- and three-item conditions; all p < 0.01, partial η² = 0.10-0.14). Follow-up analyses showed these improvements were primarily driven by the squat imagery group. Compared with squat execution, squat imagery produced greater reductions in response time for the Stroop simple and Sternberg three-item conditions, while improvements in the Stroop complex and Sternberg one-item conditions were comparable. Squat imagery also produced greater improvements in Visual Search congruent response time than both squat execution and control. A significant group × time interaction was observed for Visual Search incongruent accuracy (p < 0.05, partial η² = 0.08-0.14), reflecting reduced accuracy following squat execution, whereas performance remained stable in the squat imagery and control groups. Although Flanker incongruent accuracy initially showed a significant interaction (p = 0.032, partial η² = 0.07), this effect did not survive FDR correction (pFDR = 0.082). These findings demonstrate that acute squat imaging enhances inhibitory control and working memory without the drawbacks of physical activity. Squat visualization serves as a low-intensity, pragmatic cognitive improvement for collegiate athletes.