The need to achieve short-term competitive outcomes in sports may influence the emergence of talent selection strategies, which could bias individuals’ opportunities. The present study aimed to further explore the relative age effect (RAE), a phenomenon that strongly influences youth sport development. The RAE refers to a disproportionately high percentage in sport teams of athletes born early in the selection year. Our primary focus was to explore whether the RAE is supported by behavioral evidence in favor of better fitness—and especially cognitive-attentional functioning—of early as compared to late-born players. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 105 young athletes (u10, n = 52; 9.8 ± 0.3 years old, and u12, n = 53; 11.8 ± 0.2 years old) attending two youth elite soccer academies. Attentional functioning, anthropometrics, physical fitness, and game intelligence were compared across two Age Groups (u10 vs. u12) and four Birth Quarters (BQ1–BQ4). The RAE was statistically significant (p < 0.001), showing that about 50% of participants were born in the first quarter and 75% were born in the first half of the year. More importantly, U12 players outperformed u10 players in measures that were related to sustained attention (with faster and less variable responses; p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively), and in all anthropometric measures (p < 0.001), physical-fitness capacities (p < 0.05). Crucially, neither the attentional measures, game intelligence, anthropometrics, nor physical fitness were affected by BQ (all ps > 0.1 and BF₁₀ between 0.08 and 0.6, showing strong evidence for the null hypothesis). The present findings suggest that the early selection process that occurs during scouting in youth soccer academies offsets the age-related differences that could be anticipated in cognitive skills, anthropometrics, and physical abilities, due to growth and maturation. These birth asymmetries could lead teams to disregard later maturation athletes and athletes born later in the year inducing a larger dropout of those players with the consequent reduction in the talent pool.

The main purpose of this study was to explore the association between the regular practice of open-skill sports (i.e., soccer) and executive control, along with other attentional functions (i.e., alerting and orienting) during preadolescence. The study was conducted on 131 participants (70 non-athletes and 61 soccer players). To measure cognitive performance, participants performed the Attentional Network Test—Interactions (ANT-I) task. Compared to non-athletes, soccer players showed overall faster responses and better executive control (e.g., reduced interference from distractors). Overall, our results provide new empirical evidence supporting the positive association between regular sports practice and cognitive performance, and more specifically executive functions. However, is important to note that the relationship between regular sport practice and cognition is complex and multifactorial. Our findings can be partly explained by the “cardiovascular fitness hypothesis” and the “cognitive component skills approach,” suggesting that an externally paced sport environment with high physical fitness and perceptual–cognitive demands may be an appropriate setting to optimize the development of cognitive functioning during early adolescence.

Consume of stimulants (as caffeine) is very usual in different contexts where the performers have to take quick and accurate decisions during physical effort. Decision-making processes are mediated by the attentional networks. An experiment was carried out to examine the effect of caffeine intake on attention (alerting, orienting, and executive control) as a function of consumption habit under two physical exertion conditions (rest vs. aerobic exercise). Two groups of participants with different caffeine consumption profiles (moderate consumers vs. low consumers) performed the Attention Network Test–Interactions under four different conditions regarding activity (rest vs. exercise) and intake (caffeine vs. placebo). Results showed that whereas exercise led to faster reaction times (RT) in all cases, caffeine intake accelerated RT but only at rest and in moderate caffeine consumers. More importantly, caffeine intake reduced the alertness effect in moderate consumers only at the rest condition. No interactions between Intake and Activity were observed in the other attentional networks, with exercise reducing orienting independently of caffeine intake, which suggests that physical exercise and caffeine are different modulators of attention but can interact. Caffeine intake had differential effects on reaction speed at rest and during physical exercise depending on the individual consumption habit. On the basis of these finding it seems that mainly alertness is modulated differently by internal and external “arousing” conditions.

Dancers are subjected to high-intensity workouts when they practice dancesport, and according to the literature, they are prone to injury, primarily of the lower limbs. The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences exist in relative activation amplitudes for dancers involved in dancesport due to muscle, gender, and type of dance. Measurements were carried out using surface electromyography equipment during the choreography of a performance in the following leg muscles: rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, and gastrocnemius medialis. Eight couples of active dancesport athletes (aged 20.50±2.75 yrs) were analyzed. Significant gender differences were found in rumba in the tibialis anterior (p≤0.05) and gastrocnemius medialis (p≤0.05). Based on the different activations, it is possible to establish possible mechanisms of injury, as well as tools for preventing injuries and improving sports performance.

This study aimed to describe the response of heart rate (HR) and the subjective rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during a simulated DanceSport competition. The mean and maximum HR of 18 dancers of the highest level were evaluated during a simulated DanceSport competition consisting of 5 Latin dances. RPE values were recorded immediately after each dance. The dances were ranked as follows according to the mean HR (samba [165.3 ± 16.3 bpm] < rumba bolero [176.9 ± 9.9 bpm] < cha-cha-chá [179.1 ± 11.4 bpm] = paso doble [182.5 ± 12.5 bpm] = jive [184.3 ± 11.4 bpm]); maximum HR (samba [185.6 ± 8.9 bpm] = rumba bolero [187.0 ± 9.1 bpm] < cha-cha-chá [190.1 ± 8.0 bpm] = paso doble [191.4 ± 9.0 bpm] < jive [194.2 ± 8.1 bpm]); and RPE (rumba bolero [5.22 ± 1.40] < samba [6.42 ± 2.06] = cha-cha-chá [6.78 ± 1.31] = paso doble [7.39 ± 1.04] < jive [8.33 ± 0.91]). The only significant correlation between RPE and HR values was observed for the maximum HR during the first dance of the competition (samba) (r = 0.485). A simulated DanceSport competition causes high physiological stress being influenced by the type of dance.

Exogenous ketone supplementation has emerged as a potential ergogenic strategy for trained and physically active individuals, prompting increasing research into its effects on exercise performance and metabolism. This systematic review evaluated the effects of ketone supplementation on athletic performance, metabolic variables, and physiological responses in trained and physically active populations. Searches were conducted in EBSCOhost, PubMed, and Web of Science following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Peer-reviewed controlled studies published between 2018 and December 2025 were included. Twenty-six studies met the eligibility criteria. Ketone supplementation consistently increased circulating β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations and modified glucose, lactate, and acid–base balance. Effects on exercise performance were heterogeneous, with some studies reporting improvements in time-trial performance and cognitive function, whereas others found no benefit or even impaired performance. Co-ingestion with sodium bicarbonate attenuated metabolic acidosis and occasionally enhanced performance outcomes. Ketone supplementation also influenced cardiorespiratory responses and fluid regulation, and may promote muscular angiogenesis during periods of training overload. Overall, current evidence remains heterogeneous and does not support definitive conclusions regarding ergogenic efficacy, which appears to depend on exercise intensity, participant characteristics, supplementation protocols, and co-ingestion strategies.