Cognitive load impairs athletes' subliminal processing: behavioral and neural insights

The study findings suggest that the cognitive load impairs athletes' subliminal processing by consuming the available resource capacity. This study, performed with athletes with strong subliminal processing abilities, not only highlights the importance of athletes incorporating cognitive load into their daily training to enhance their competitive performance (e.g., adding memory tasks during sports training), but also deepens our understanding of the relationship between attention resources and subliminal processing. Additionally, the small sample size and the restriction to national-level table tennis players, both of which significantly constrain the generalizability of the results.