Psychophysiological stress response of adolescent chess players during problem-solving tasks

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

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112609

Psychophysiological stress response of adolescent chess players during problem-solving tasks

Physiol Behav. 2019 Oct 1:209:112609. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112609. Epub 2019 Jul 8.

Authors

Juan Pedro Fuentes-García¹, Telmo Pereira², Maria António Castro³, António Carvalho Santos², Santos Villafaina⁴

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Sport Science, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain.
² Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Coimbra Health School, Portugal.
³ Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Coimbra Health School, Portugal; University of Coimbra, Centre for Mechanical and Engineering Materials and Processes, Portugal.
⁴ Faculty of Sport Science, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain. Electronic address: svillafaina@unex.es.

PMID: 31295452
DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112609

Abstract

The game of chess has been traditionally used to study basic cognitive processes. However, it has been poorly studied in adolescent chess players. The aim of the present study was to describe the psychophysiological response of adolescence, using electroencephalography (EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV) during problem-solving tasks. Thus, participants had to solve four chess problems with different level of difficulty (low and high). A total of 13 adolescent chess players (age: 15.45 [1.64] with a mean ELO score of 1403 [209.16]) participated in the study. EEG and HRV were recorded while participants solved the chess problems. Results indicated that HRV is reduced as well as EEG theta power spectrum increased during the high difficulty level. These results support the idea of HRV and EEG as useful tools to control stress or cognitive load during cognitive tasks even in adolescent. This characterization increases the knowledge about the psychophysiological response of adolescence to a cognitive task under time pressure.

Keywords: Autonomic modulation; Brain; Chess; EEG theta power spectrum; Problem-solving; Stress.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Autonomic Nervous System / physiopathology
Electrocardiography
Electroencephalography
Female
Heart Rate
Humans
Male
Problem Solving / physiology*
Stress, Psychological / physiopathology
Stress, Psychological / psychology*
Theta Rhythm