Heart and Brain Responses to Real Versus Simulated Chess Games in Trained Chess Players: A Quantitative EEG and HRV Study

Fuentes-García, Juan Pedro; Pereira, Telmo; Castro, Maria António; Santos, António Carvalho; Villafaina, Santos

doi:10.3390/ijerph16245021

Cited by 16 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…For instance, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was postponed until 2021 ( International Olympic Committee, 2020 ) and the International Chess Federation (2020) (FIDE) canceled the World Candidates Tournament 2020 ( FIDE, 2020 ). Chess is considered a sport with high psychophysiological demands where players are exposed to higher levels of stress and cognitive load ( Fuentes-Garcia et al, 2018 , Fuentes-Garcia et al, 2019a , b , c , 2020 ; Villafaina et al, 2019 ). Previous neuropsychological studies have shown the benefits of chess practice in executive functions, facilitating the adaptation to complex or not routine situations ( Grau-Perez and Moreira, 2017 ; Ramos et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of COVID-19 Confinement in Behavioral, Psychological, and Training Patterns of Chess Players

et al. 2020

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The outbreak of COVID-19 has triggered a pandemic, jeopardizing global health. The sports world is also suffering enormous consequences, such as the suspension of the Olympic Games in Tokyo or, in chess, the cancelation of the World Candidates Tournament 2020. Chess is a sport characterized by high psychophysiological demands derived from long training durations, tournaments, and games, leading to mental, emotional, and physical stress. These characteristics could provide chess players a certain advantage in facing quarantine situations. This study aimed to analyze the effect of COVID-19 confinement on behavioral, psychological, and training patterns of chess players based on their gender, level of education, and level of chess played. We analyzed chess players (N: 450; age = 38.12 ± 14.01 years) in countries where confinement was mandatory: Professional players (N: 55; age = 43.35 ± 13), high-performance players (N: 53; age = 38.57 ± 13.46), competitive players (N: 284; age = 36.82 ± 13.91), and amateur players (N: 58; age = 39.10 ± 14.99). Results showed that chess players significantly decreased physical activity per day while increased chess practise during the confinement period. However, anxiety levels remained moderate despite the antistress effects of physical activity. Amateur players showed a significantly higher level of social alarm than professional and high-performance players. Moreover, professional players showed higher values of extraversion than high-performance players and amateur players. In neuroticism, professional players showed higher values than highperformance players. In addition, the professional players showed higher scores in psychological inflexibility than competitive players. Finally, chess players with the highest academic level showed higher levels of personal concern and anxiety due to COVID-19 as well as lower psychological inflexibility compared to those with a lower academic level. In conclusion, chess players, especially those with a higher academic level, might have adapted their psychological profile to fit confinement situations and the worrying levels of physical inactivity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of COVID-19 Confinement in Behavioral, Psychological, and Training Patterns of Chess Players

et al. 2020

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“…Moreover, previous studies have linked beta band to short-term memory (Tallon-Baudry et al, 1999;Palva et al, 2011), elevated mental workload (Coelli et al, 2015), or concentration (Kakkos et al, 2019) as well as increasing in working memory (Spitzer and Haegens, 2017). In the same line, the theta band is associated to increases in cognitive workload (Fuentes-García et al, 2019;Diaz-Piedra et al, 2020). Therefore, further investigation is needed to clarify the role of alpha, beta, and theta bands in different types of DT conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This, hypothetically, may explain that changes in the neurophysiological measures were not found. For instance, it could be expected, as occurred in the healthy group, that beta and theta bands would increase during the DT condition due to higher cognitive demands or workload ( Fuentes-García et al, 2019 ; Diaz-Piedra et al, 2020 ). This is because increases in beta and theta bands, due to increases in cognitive workload, could be expected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurophysiological Differences Between Women With Fibromyalgia and Healthy Controls During Dual Task: A Pilot Study

Villafaina¹,

Fuentes-García²,

Cano-Plasencia³

et al. 2020

Front. Psychol.

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Background Women with FM have a reduced ability to perform two simultaneous tasks. However, the impact of dual task (DT) on the neurophysiological response of women with FM has not been studied. Objective To explore both the neurophysiological response and physical performance of women with FM and healthy controls while performing a DT (motor–cognitive). Design Cross-sectional study. Methods A total of 17 women with FM and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (1:1 ratio) were recruited. The electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded while participants performed two simultaneous tasks: a motor (30 seconds arm-curl test) and a cognitive (remembering three unrelated words). Theta (4–7 Hz), alpha (8–12 Hz), and beta (13–30) frequency bands were analyzed by using EEGLAB. Results Significant differences were obtained in the healthy control group between single task (ST) and DT in the theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands ( p -value < 0.05). Neurophysiological differences between ST and DT were not found in women with FM. In addition, between-group differences were found in the alpha and beta frequency bands between healthy and FM groups, with lower values of beta and alpha in the FM group. Therefore, significant group ∗ condition interactions were detected in the alpha and beta frequency bands. Regarding physical condition performance, between groups, analyses showed that women with FM obtained significantly worse results in the arm curl test than healthy controls, in both ST and DT. Conclusion Women with FM showed the same electrical brain activity pattern during ST and DT conditions, whereas healthy controls seem to adapt their brain activity to task commitment. This is the first study that investigates the neurophysiological response of women with FM while simultaneously performing a motor and a cognitive task.

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“…Previous studies in chess have evaluated the psychophysiological response in different situations in order to study the stress or decision-making process among others [7][8][9][10][11]22]. However, the psychophysiological response of chess players who win or lose has never been explored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chess Players Increase the Theta Power Spectrum When the Difficulty of the Opponent Increases: An EEG Study

Fuentes-García

Villafaina

Collado-Mateo

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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The present study aimed to analyze differences in the electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectrum (theta, alpha, and beta) between participants who won (winning group) and those who lost (losing group) in three different chess games: against their same Elo (100% chess games), 25% over their Elo (125% chess games), and 25% under their Elo (75% chess games). EEG was assessed at baseline and during the chess games. Method: 14 male chess players (age: 35.36 ± 13.77 and Elo: 1921 ± 170) played three games of 3 min, plus two additional seconds per move, while EEG was assessed. There were three difficulty levels (75%, 100%, and 125%), with two games (one with white pieces and another with black pieces) per level. The winning group showed higher theta power in the frontal, central, and posterior brain regions when difficulty increased (p-value < 0.05). Besides this, alpha power showed higher values (p-value < 0.05) in 125% games than in 75% chess games in C3, T3, T4, T5, and T6. The losing group showed a significant decrease (p-value < 0.05) in the beta and alpha power spectrum in frontal, central, parietotemporal, and occipital areas, when the opponent’s difficulty increased. Moreover, between groups, analyses showed higher theta power in the losing group than in the winning group, in C3, T5, T6, P4, and Pz (p-value < 0.05). Therefore, the winning group was able to adapt to each difficulty level, increasing theta power in the frontal, central, and posterior brain areas, as the efficiency hypothesis postulated. These changes were not observed in the losing group. Moreover, increases in alpha power during the most difficult games, in comparison with the easier, could have been caused by creative ideation and divergent thinking, as participants looked for alternative solutions against a higher-skilled opponent.

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Heart and Brain Responses to Real Versus Simulated Chess Games in Trained Chess Players: A Quantitative EEG and HRV Study

Cited by 16 publications

References 45 publications

The Effect of COVID-19 Confinement in Behavioral, Psychological, and Training Patterns of Chess Players

The Effect of COVID-19 Confinement in Behavioral, Psychological, and Training Patterns of Chess Players

Neurophysiological Differences Between Women With Fibromyalgia and Healthy Controls During Dual Task: A Pilot Study

Chess Players Increase the Theta Power Spectrum When the Difficulty of the Opponent Increases: An EEG Study

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