The effects of fatigue on perceptual-cognitive performance among open-skill sport athletes: A scoping review

Perceptual-cognitive performance is fundamental for the anticipation and decision-making demands of open-skill sports but may be disrupted by fatigue. This scoping review aimed to describe what is known about the effects of fatigue on perceptual-cognitive performance among open-skill sport athletes. Six databases were systematically searched. Articles were included if they involved open-skill sport athletes, a perceptual-cognitive task assessed on two or more occasions, and induction of acute fatigue confirmed by a manipulation check. Sixty-seven studies, chapters, and reviews were included. In 51% of studies, fatigue was induced through physical exertion, with the rest by mental exertion (27%), or a combination of physical and mental exertion (22%). Only 35% of studies involved sport-specific exertion to induce fatigue, and 29% included measures of participants' subjective ratings that confirmed the presence of fatigue. Forty-seven percent of perceptual-cognitive tasks were sport-specific, and just 19% assessed perceptual-cognitive performance simultaneous to the fatigue-inducing exertion. Negative, positive, and no effects of fatigue on perceptual-cognitive performance were reported, and these equivocal findings may be attributable to methodological discrepancies between studies. Future research should include more sport-specific designs, as well as stressors other than fatigue, such as environmental and psychosocial stressors.