An ERP Study Of Attention Retention In College Athletes Of Different Sport Items Under State Anxiety Situations

Objective:In the process of competitive sports,no matter which sports event,both coaches and athletes believe that attention is one of the important psychological qualities that directly affect the improvement of athletes’technical level and winning games.Because of the different competitive characteristics of different events,the attention requirements of athletes are not consistent.As a basic emotion produced in the course of human evolution,high level of state anxiety is the main obstacle affecting the athletic performance of athletes,leading to the decline of athletic performance.Therefore,this study conducted an ERP study on the attention maintenance ability of professional athletes（open skill sport activity athletes and closed skill sport activity athletes）who participated in different sports activities for a long time under the condition of state anxiety.Research methods:In study 1,30 college students were selected to test whether anxiety-inducing tasks（including rapid sequence task and number arithmetic task）could successfully induce state anxiety in the subjects,in order to prepare for the study 2 on state anxiety in athletes.Since the result of study did not reach the ideal effect,a Raven Standard Reasoning Test was added to the material,and the validity of the material was verified again.The research objects were 30 college students who had not participated in study.In study 2,60 college athletes from A physical education institute in Beijing were selected,and all subjects were divided into two groups.Group 1 was closed skill sport activity athletes group,including 30 athletes in track and field,gymnastics and swimming.Group 2 consists of 30 athletes from open skill sport activity athletes,including badminton,basketball,table tennis and volleyball.The sports grade of the athletes are in the national second class or above or the sports years are more than 4 years.ERP（Event Related Potentials,ERP）data of two groups of subjects completing cognitive tasks under normal conditions and anxious conditions were collected.Results:（1）After the verification of study 1,the results showed that raven Standard Reasoning Test,rapid sequence task and number arithmetic task could effectively induce state anxiety of subjects.（2）In terms of behavioral results,the response time of the two groups was longer than that of the normal state（p=0.012）,and the accuracy was lower than that of the normal state（p=0.041）,but the difference between the two groups did not reach statistical significance.（3）In the EEG results,CNV was mainly generated in the central and parietal regions,and the amplitude of CNV reached its maximum at the C_zpoint.The amplitude of CNV in the anxious state was significantly lower than that in the normal state（p=0.000）.At C₃,C_z,C₄,P₃,P_zand P₄electrodes,CNV amplitude of athletes in closed skill sport activity athletes under normal condition was significantly higher than that of athletes in open skill sport activity（p=0.005）,and the same result was obtained in anxious state（p=0.004）.Conclusion:（1）State anxiety affects the attention retention ability of college athletes,leading to an increase in response time and a decrease in accuracy,and a decrease in the average amplitude of late CNV components;Compared with the anxious condition,the central and parietal regions showed higher brain activation levels in the normal condition,and the anxious state reduced the attention retention ability of college athletes.（2）In both normal and anxious situations,there were significant differences in the late components of CNV induced in the parietal and central regions between open skill sports college athletes and closed skill sports college athletes,showing different degrees of brain activation.The brain activation level of closed skill sports college athletes was higher than that of open skill sports college athletes,and they had better attention retention function.