نشریه رشد و یادگیری حرکتی - ورزشی
پیاپی 49 (پاییز 1401)

This research aimed to investigate the effect of physical training and selective and compulsory observational pattern on the intrinsic motivation and cognitive learning of basketball jump shot skill with the approach of basic psychological demands.

Eighty male students (18-22 years old) were selected voluntarily and based on their pre-test scores, were randomly divided into four Self-Control, Paired, Experimenter-Control, and Control groups (20 people in each group). To examine the motivation level, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), and to examine the cognitive learning level, Recall Questionnaire (adapted from Knudson, 1993) was used. An educational video of the expert model that showed the movement components was presented to the participants. A retention test was conducted 24 hours later. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the data (p≤0.05).

The results showed that in the acquisition phase, the level of intrinsic motivation of the participants to learn the basketball jump shot skill in the Self-Control observation condition was significantly higher than the participants in the Paired and Control conditions. Also, in the retention phase, the level of intrinsic motivation in the Self-Control observation condition was significantly higher than in other experimental conditions. In addition, in the acquisition and retention phases of cognitive learning (recall success), the participants in the Self-Control observation condition scored significantly higher than the participants in the Paired and Control conditions.

In general, the results of this study show that motivation affects learning. Also, task demonstration as a whole-part-whole is an effective and efficient method in the cognitive phase.

In previous studies, the effect of arousal on performance has been investigated. However, whether arousal during learning stages affects bimanual coordination has not been investigated. Therefore, the present research aimed to investigate the effect of arousal levels during different learning stages on the performance of the hand-eye coordination task.

For this purpose, 36 male physical education students aged 20-35 were conveniently selected and based on normal IQ, normal trait anxiety, and right-handedness, were matched into three Low Arousal, Normal Arousal, and High Arousal groups. The study involved pre-test, post-test, retention, and transfer stages. In the pre-test stage, the participants performed 10 trials of the eye-hand coordination task. The training period consisted of 10 sessions and 50 trials per session, in which at the end of each session 10 trials were recorded as performance. The retention and transfer tests were performed 24 hours after the last training session. The data were analyzed using repeated measure analysis of variance, one-way analysis of variance, and Tukey's post hoc tests.

The results of the present study showed that high, normal, and low arousal levels have a significant effect on the duration of the eye-hand coordination task during the cognitive, association, and automatic stages, and also the time of the eye-hand coordination task was improved.

According to the results of the study, it is suggested that educators use these arousal stimulation effects to improve the performance and learning of athletes in pursuit tasks.

Sports activities can protect the brain and improve its function. However, the lack of time is one of the primary reasons for not participating in the recommended amount of sports activities. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of sprint interval training (SIT) on hippocampal nerve growth factor (NGF) levels, learning, and spatial memory in adult male rats. 

For this, 16 male Wistar rats were divided into two equal groups (control and SIT). The SIT protocol consisted of eight weeks of running on the treadmill (three sessions per week, 4-9 repetitions of 10 seconds sprints, and 1 min rest between repetitions). At the end of the eighth week, the rats’ cognitive performance was evaluated using the shuttle box and Y-maze avoidance tests. Finally, rats were anesthetized and the hippocampus was removed and NGF levels were measured.

The findings showed that in the SIT group, the hippocampal NGF levels were significantly higher than the control group (p=0.001). Moreover, rats in the SIT group had better performance in the shuttle box and Y-maze avoidance tests than the control group, but the difference between groups was not statistically significant (p>0.05).

Based on the findings of the present study, it seems that SIT (with 10 seconds repetitions) can increase the hippocampal NGF levels, though, to improve our knowledge about its effect on cognitive performance, more studies are needed

Athletes in team sports must make many decisions when perceiving and interpreting available environmental information regarding the position of the ball, teammates, and opposing players while taking appropriate actions. Considering the nature of volleyball and the need to pay attention to multiple stimuli during training and matches, a high capacity for cognitive abilities such as working memory seems essential. This research aimed to compare the effectiveness of spatial and numerical working memory of skilled and semi-skilled volleyball players following decision-making exercises.

sixty female volleyball players, 30 of them for the semi-skilled group (15 people for each of the training and control groups) and 30 for the skilled group (15 people for each of the training and control groups) with the age range of 19-25 years were selected according to purposive sampling method. The protocol of decision-making exercises was carried out for 18 sessions and three blocks of 20-trial exercises were performed according to the training instructions for each group. The working memory capacity test was used to evaluate working memory. To test the hypothesis, due to the normal distribution of the data, the between- and within-groups factorial analysis of variance (mixed model) was used.

The results of the analysis at the significance level of α = 0.05 showed that there is a significant difference between the training groups, and the decision-making group got the highest score. The decision-making exercises at the semi-skilled level of proficiency compared to the skill level has a significant improvement in the spatial working memory variable.

The result shows that exercises with high cognitive load can be a necessity to increase spatial working memory in semi-skilled female volleyball players.

 The purpose of the current study was to examine the simultaneous effect of the ‌transcranial direct current stimulation (tDSC) and observational learning on learning ‌of basketball free throw. ‌

 In semi-experimental study with repeated measure design, 30 novice female ‌students in free basketball throw accessibly selected and randomly located in 2 ‌tDCS with model observation and artificial stimulation with model observation ‌groups. In pre test phase, participants throw 15 trials basketball free throw. ‌Intervention phase done in 5 consecutive days that each day electrical stimulation ‌of the brain was performed from the motor cortex (C3 anode & Fp2 anode), and ‌artificial stimulation with model observation, and then participants performed 15 ‌free basketball throws. In last session post test phase executed. One week and 21 ‌days after post test phase respectively executed short term and long term retention ‌phase. Data analyzed with ANOVA with repeated measure statistical method.‌

 The result indicated that tDCS with model observation (F= 22.327, sig =0.0001, η2 =0,615) and artificial stimulation with model observation (F= 3.044, sig =0.023, η2 =0,179) significantly improved basketball free throw. Other results indicated that ‌tDCS with model observation than artificial stimulation with model observation ‌cause improvement basketball free throw in post test (p=0.002), short term test (p=0.002) and long term test (p=0.001). ‌

 Overall, the results of the current study indicated that tDCS with model observation ‌can be effective as a new training method in addition to model observation to ‌improve basketball free throw skills.

Many studies evaluate the interaction between cognition and posture but the effect of cognitive task difficulty and articulation on postural control remains inconclusive. The purpose of the present study was to examine the interaction effect of cognitive task difficulty and articulation on postural control.

Twenty healthy young volunteers (Mean age 22 ± 2.3 years) performed four random conditions while standing on a force platform. Conditions involved combinations of two level of cognitive task difficulty (easy and difficult cognitive task) and two level of verbal response (simultaneous and final).

Two-way ANOVA (significant level P<0.05) results demonstrated marked increased in the standard deviation and area of 95% confidence ellipse of the center of pressure in the difficult cognitive task condition with simultaneous verbal response. (P<0.05). Also, in the final response condition, difficult cognitive task reduced area of 95% confidence ellipse.

According to the results of the present research, it seems that the difficult cognitive task requires a greater part of attention capacity; subsequently, attention is withdrawn from the postural task and automatic control regulates posture more efficiently through unconscious, fast, and reflexive processes. Also, postural control is simultaneously affected by the difficulty of cognitive task and articulation. Therefore, for designing appropriate interventions, it seems necessary to pay attention to the interactive effects of the difficulty and articulation of cognitive task.