Evaluating MAPT p.A152T as a risk factor for the 3R tauopathy Pick's disease.

Football is characterized by rapid changes in game situations, where the players’ executive functions (EFs) are key to successful performance (–). It can be considered a complex cognitive construct () that is fundamental to maintaining attention, inhibiting inappropriate stressful environmental stimuli (), and flexible adaptation to changing situations (). EFs include three core components: working memory, which enables the storage and manipulation of visual and spatial information; inhibition, which involves self-control, selective attention, and the suppression of inappropriate behaviours; and cognitive flexibility, which refers to the ability to switch quickly between tasks and strategies (, , ). These components form the foundation for higher-order EF processes, including reasoning, planning, and problem solving (). The relationship between EFs and physical activity provides important opportunities for examining cognitive functioning in sport contexts. Physical activity has been shown to have positive effects on EFs, attention, and academic performance in children aged 6–12 years (). Intense physical activity also improves cognitive performance by enhancing attentional focus (, ). In the long term, the positive effect of physical activity on attention increases children's engagement with school-related tasks, thereby contributing to better academic performance (). Vigilance refers to the ability to maintain attention over the long term and respond appropriately to relevant stimuli. There is a positive association between regular participation in sports and vigilance in adolescence (). Regular participation in externally paced sports, such as football, significantly improves vigilance, reaction time and inhibitory control, compared to self-paced sports, such as triathlon, and in adolescents with a sedentary lifestyle (, ). Physical activity involving higher cognitive effort has a greater impact on EFs than aerobic physical activity (). Programs aimed at physical activity have a positive effect on working memory and cognitive flexibility, in contrast to inhibitory functions (–). Furthermore, physical fitness also has a positive effect on short-term working memory, and this effect is even more marked in older elementary school children (). Therefore, externally paced sport environments that combine high physical, perceptual, and cognitive demands provide an appropriate context for supporting cognitive development during adolescence (). In this regard, football represents a particularly relevant setting for examining the development of executive functions in youth athletes (). Football can be considered an intense physical activity in which EFs appear specifically in dynamically changing game situations through decision-making, adaptation and the application of appropriate strategies. During play, a players processes and stores information from various game situations (), filters out irrelevant stimuli, recognizes and recalls the strategy necessary for an adequate solution, and then applies it to decision-making in a fraction of a second (, ). For example, when a player receives the ball from a teammate, he must quickly scan the pitch to identify the best passing option. In this situation, the player must ignore teammates who are tightly marked by opponents and select a teammate who is free and ready to receive the pass. Based on the reviewed literature, the present study aimed to examine EFs in football, as these cognitive abilities are increasingly recognized as relevant indicators of sports performance (, , ).