Investigation of Working Memory Responses in Recreational Athletes Using Virtual Reality Assessment System

Year 2024, Volume: 10 Issue: 3, 136 - 144, 30.09.2024

Goksen Cinar , Adil Deniz Duru

https://doi.org/10.18826/useeabd.1475291

Abstract

Aim: This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between N-Back, a valid working memory task frequently used in cognitive psychology research, and a more ecological working memory measurement tool designed for VR, and the differences in terms of athlete performance.
Methods: N-Back (verbal and visual) and VR-ATC tasks were applied to 20 recreational and 20 sedentary individuals with consistent age and education levels. VR-ATC tasks include different tasks delivered on a total of 4 screens. The N-Back task used visual-spatial and auditory-verbal stimuli at three difficulty levels (1-back, 2-back, 3-back) as WM validation. The relationship between the results obtained from VR-ATC and N-Back scores was evaluated with the Spearman Correlation test, and the results of the athlete groups from these tests were evaluated with the Mann-Whitney U test. Statistical significance level was accepted as p<0.05.
Results: Spearman correlation revealed a moderate-low significant negative correlation between Verbal WM Capacity from VR-ATC and verbal N-Back 1 errors (r=-0.377; p=0.017) and impulsive errors (r=-0.379; p=0.016). Mann-Whitney U test indicated that recreational athletes performed significantly better in Verbal WM Capacity- Item Number (U=116.0, p=0.023), Verbal WM Capacity-Retention (U=96.0, p=0.004), and WM Efficiency-Task Switching Speed (U=105.0, p=0.009) compared to sedentary individuals.
Conclusion: Although there are many studies evaluating the cognitive performance of athletes with traditional or computer-based tests, they have limitations because they do not reflect daily life functions. Our study showed that an ecological working memory task, that is, a working memory task that is more integrated with daily life, better separates groups of athletes, even though it is related to traditional tasks. In this sense, VR-ATC can be considered as an alternative approach to assess athlete performances.

Keywords

Virtual reality, Recreation, Working memory

Ethical Statement

Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, Clinical Research Ethics Committee - 09.2024.138

Thanks

Neo Auvra Digital Health and Bionic Technologies and Services Industry and Trade Inc.

Rekreasyonel Atletlerde Sanal Gerçeklik Değerlendirme Sistemi Kullanılarak Çalışma Belleği Tepkilerinin Araştırılması

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışma bilişsel psikoloji araştırmalarında sıklıkla kullanılan geçerli bir çalışma belleği görevi olan N-Back ile VR için tasarlanmış daha ekolojik bir çalışma belleği ölçüm aracı arasındaki ilişkiyi ve atlet performansları açısından farklarını değerlendirmek için hazırlanmıştır.
Yöntem: Yaş ve eğitim düzeyi tutarlı 20 rekreasyonel ve 20 sedanter atlete N-Back (sözel ve görsel) ile VR-ATC görevleri uygulanmıştır. VR-ATC 4 ekrandan farklı görevlere sahiptir. N-Back görevi, WM doğrulaması olarak üç zorluk seviyesinde (1-back, 2-back, 3-back) görsel-uzamsal ve işitsel-sözel uyaranlar kullanmıştır. VR-ATC’den elde edilen sonuçlar ile N-Back skorları arasındaki ilişki Spearman Korelasyon testi, atlet gruplarının bu testlerden aldığı sonuçlar ise Mann-Whitney U testi ile değerlendirilmiştir. İstatistiksel anlamlılık düzeyi p<0,05 olarak kabul edilmiştir.
Bulgular: Spearman korelasyonu, VR-ATC'den elde edilen Sözel WM Kapasitesi ile sözel N-Back 1 hataları (r=-0.377; p=0.017) ve dürtüsel hatalar (r=-0.379; p=0.016) arasında orta-düşük düzeyde anlamlı negatif korelasyon olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Mann-Whitney U testi, rekreasyonel sporcuların Sözel WM Kapasitesi- Madde Sayısı (U=116.0, p=0.023), Sözel WM Kapasitesi- Akılda Tutma (U=96.0, p=0.004) ve WM Verimliliği- Görev Değiştirme Hızında (U=105.0, p=0.009) sedanter bireylere kıyasla anlamlı derecede daha iyi performans gösterdiğini ortaya koymuştur.
Sonuç: Atletlerin bilişsel performanslarını geleneksel veya bilgisayar tabanlı testler ile değerlendiren çalışmalar fazla olsa da günlük yaşam işlevlerini yansıtmadığı için sınırlılıklara sahiptir. Araştırmamız ekolojik yani günlük yaşam ile daha entegre olan bir çalışma belleği görevinin geleneksel görevler ile ilişkili olsa da atlet gruplarını daha iyi ayırdığını göstermiştir. Bu anlamda, VR-ATC atlet performanslarını değerlendirmede alternatif bir yaklaşım olarak düşünülebilir.

Keywords

Sanal gerçeklik, Rekreasyon, Çalışma belleği

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