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

Authors : Goksen Cinar, Adil Deniz Duru
Pages : 136-144
Doi:10.18826/useeabd.1475291
View : 375 | Download : 249
Publication Date : 2024-09-30
Article Type : Research Paper
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 : Sanal gerçeklik, Rekreasyon, Çalışma belleği

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