Document Type : Research Paper I Open Access I Released under CC BY-NC 4.0 license

Authors

1 Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Sciences Educational , University of Yazd, Yazd, Iran.

2 Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Sciences Educational, University of Yazd, Yazd, Iran .

3 Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Sciences Educational, University of Yazd, Yazd, Iran.

Abstract

.Introduction: Exercise has a great effect on health promotion, and recently its effect on improving the nervous system functions and cognitive processes has attracted the attention of many researchers. This study aimed to investigate the effect of internal and external attention during futsal dribbling skill training on the serum level of glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and cognitive function.
Methods: forty-two untrained female students were selected by available sampling and randomly assigned into four Control without training, Control with training, Internal Attention, and External Attention groups. During 15 sessions, the participants of the training groups did the futsal dribbling training according to the dribbling test by making five trials in each session. Forty-eight hours before the pre-test and after the post-test, blood samples were drawn and cognitive function was measured using the Stroop test. GDNF blood factor was measured via the ELISA method. Statistical analysis was conducted at a significance level of P≤0.05.
Results: Internal attention during dribbling training had no significant effect on GDNF serum level (P=0.12) and cognitive function (P=0.07). External attention during dribbling training had a significant effect on GDNF serum level (P=0.01) but did not have a significant effect on cognitive function (P=0.16).
Conclusion: The type of internal or external attention during futsal dribbling does not make a particular difference in cognitive function and increases the serum level of GDNF. But the effects of external attention on the serum level of GDNF have been significant.

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