Publications by authors named "Florian Heilmann"

This study examined the impact of sport-specific cognitive training (CT) on executive functions (EFs) in youth soccer players. Thirty-one athletes (13-15 years) participated, 13 in the intervention group (IG) and 18 in the control group (CG). The IG underwent an 8-week soccer-focused CT program, while the CG maintained regular training.

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The study investigates relative age effects (RAE) in German youth soccer (Youth Bundesliga A: January 2004 to December 2005 and B: January 2006 to December 2007; highest league in German youth soccer) and its persistence in third-division players. Data from the 2022-2023 season (120 teams, 3,174 players) were analyzed using chi-square tests. Significant RAE was found in the A-series ( < .

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Introduction: Executive functions (EFs) are relevant for game performance in soccer and have been investigated in previous research. However, emotions are a well-known performance factor in sport competitions, which may affect performance by means of EFs. The diagnostic of EFs has mainly been performed disregarding the potential impact of emotional states.

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Cognitive training primarily aims to improve executive functions (EFs). It has become a popular research topic, as previous studies have provided preliminary evidence that EFs relate to sports performance. However, whether a domain-generic cognitive training intervention can improve EFs in high-performance athletes is still unclear.

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Cognitive diagnostics, especially the measurement of executive functions (EFs) in the context of sports and talent diagnostics, is a popular research topic. However, research is lacking on how self-reports are sufficient to examine the EFs of youth athletes for performance diagnostics. Thus, the current study aims to evaluate the relationships between neuropsychological tasks (3-back task, cued Go/NoGo task, flanker task, and number-letter task) and a self-report for examining EFs (BRIEF-SB).

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Exercise modes can be categorized based on the skills required (open vs. closed skills), which implicates various demands on cognitive skills, especially executive functions (EFs). Thus, their practice may have varying effects on EFs.

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The assessment of core executive functions (EFs; i.e., inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility) has often been presented as a diagnostic tool for evaluating cognitive functions in recent publications.

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Athletes in a particular sport have specific cognitive skills acquired due to regular confrontation with sport-specific requirements. Studies show that the particular type of sport carried out and fostered by general physical activity impacts executive functions (EFs) such as inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. There are inconsistent results on the connections between domain-specific cognitive skills and executive functions.

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The Interactive Balance System (IBS), a posturography device for assessing posture control, is widely used in clinical and rehabilitation settings. However, data on the validity of the device are unavailable. Fluctuations of the center of pressure (COP) were measured in 24 healthy participants (age: 29 ± 5 (mean ± SD) years, 12 females) synchronously using the IBS, which was rigidly mounted on a Kistler platform.

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