Neuropsychological Assessment of Soccer Players

The purpose of this study was to neuropsychologically assess the attention and concentration of soccer players. Sixty-two male volunteer subjects, 31 soccer players, and 31 tennis players were recruited from local colleges. The Raven Progressive Matrices, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Perceptual Speed Test, and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test were administered. There were no significant differences found between the two groups on these tests. There was, however, within the soccer player group, a significant negative correlation between number of games played and performance on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task. Also, a significantly greater number of soccer than tennis players reported experiencing headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, and passing out after a game.