Scientific Research

Where Cognition
Meets Sport Science.

We form partnerships with research labs around the world to investigate how cognition can support elite performance in sport.

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Publications

Peer-Reviewed Research.

Find below publications that relate to our products.

2026
Published

The effect of virtual and augmented reality training on soccer players: a systematic review of cognitive-motor performance

Paludo A.C., Lipčák A., Parpa K., Kyprianidou E., Avraamides M.N.1,2 — Biology of Sport, Vol. 43

1Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus  ·  2CYENS Centre of Excellence

Does VR and AR training actually improve soccer players' cognitive and physical performance? This systematic review synthesized the best available evidence, asking whether immersive technology can meaningfully enhance decision-making, reaction time, and sport-specific motor skills in football.

Methods: Three major databases (PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus) were searched following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. After screening 289 studies, only 7 met strict inclusion criteria — reflecting the early stage of this research field. Studies were evaluated for cognitive performance, cognitive-motor outcomes, and self-reported measures.

Key findings: All 7 included studies reported significant improvements in VR/AR training groups. Cognitive gains included faster reaction time and improved accuracy. Cognitive-motor skills — heading, passing, and shooting — all improved. One striking study found brain structural and functional changes after just 4 weeks of VR heading training, including increased grey matter and improved neural connectivity lasting 4 weeks post-training. Benefits appeared even with very short interventions (as brief as 3 sessions of 5 minutes). Players with lower baseline cognitive performance improved the most.

Conclusion: VR and AR training produces meaningful improvements in both cognitive and motor performance in soccer players. Context matters — tasks closely simulating real soccer scenarios showed greater transfer to real-world performance. The findings provide scientific validation for the use of immersive VR as a cognitive training tool in elite sport.

Journal: Biology of Sport, Vol. 43, 2026  ·  Review protocol: PRISMA 2020

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2025
Published

Attentional mechanisms in light training tasks

Shimi A.1,2, Kyriacou T.3, Avraamides M.N.1,2 — Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

1Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus  ·  2CYENS Centre of Excellence, Nicosia  ·  3Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford

Athletes train their bodies — but what about their minds? Light training tools like Batak, Fitlight, and SpeedPad are widely used in sports, yet we know surprisingly little about why they work. Which mental skills actually drive performance when you're racing to hit a flashing target?

Methods: Fifty adult participants completed drills in SpeedPad, a VR adaptation of the Batak Pro and Fitlight Trainer systems. Participants also completed three established cognitive tasks: the Posner cueing task, a visual conjunction search task, and a Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) task. Regression analyses examined contributions of attentional orienting, visual search, and split attention to SpeedPad performance across four array sizes (9, 15, 19, 24 targets).

Key findings: Attentional orienting (Posner cueing RT) significantly predicted SpeedPad performance across all array sizes (p<0.001). MOT accuracy emerged as an additional significant predictor for larger array sizes (15, 19, 24), reflecting increasing demands for split attention. Visual search efficiency correlated with SpeedPad scores but did not explain unique variance in regression models.

Conclusion: Light training tasks like SpeedPad rely on attentional orienting and split attention — not general athletic experience. These findings clarify which cognitive processes these tools target, enabling more precise use in athletic training contexts.

DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1623558  ·  Ethics: Cyprus National Bioethics Committee  ·  Data: OSF

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2021
Published

Attentional Skills in Soccer: Evaluating the Involvement of Attention in Executing a Goalkeeping Task in Virtual Reality

Shimi A.1, Tsestou V.1, Hadjiaros M.2,3, Neokleous K.3,4, Avraamides M.1,3,5 — Applied Sciences

1Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus  ·  2Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus  ·  3CYENS Centre of Excellence  ·  4MentisVR Ltd.  ·  5Center for Applied Neuroscience, University of Cyprus

Physical abilities are essential to goalkeepers in soccer — but what about their cognitive skills? This study examined the role of different aspects of attention in a VR goalkeeping task, asking which attentional processes drive performance when blocking fast-approaching balls.

Methods: One hundred participants assumed the role of a goalkeeper in immersive VR, blocking target balls while ignoring distractors (Go/No-Go paradigm). They also completed the Attention Network Test (ANT), measuring alerting, orienting, and executive control networks, and the Whack-a-Mole task measuring inhibitory control. A hierarchical regression examined which attentional scores predicted VR goalkeeping performance (d').

Key findings: All three ANT networks (alerting, orienting, executive control) significantly predicted VR goalkeeper performance. Inhibitory control (Whack-a-Mole d') also correlated significantly with goalkeeping accuracy (r=0.21, p=0.039). Notably, smoother — not faster — movements were associated with better performance, suggesting cognitive anticipation rather than reactive speed drives accuracy.

Conclusion: Efficient goalkeeping relies on multiple attentional systems simultaneously. VR soccer tasks can capture individual differences in cognitive skills, supporting the use of immersive VR as both a measurement and training tool for sport-specific cognitive abilities.

DOI: 10.3390/app11199341  ·  Ethics: National Bioethics Committee of Cyprus (ΕΕΒΚ ΕΠ 2021.01.99)  ·  Data: OSF  ·  Funding: EU Horizon 2020 (No 739578)

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2022
Published

Athletic Performance in Immersive Virtual Reality: The Effect of Training Intensity

Shimi A.1, Papantoniou A.1, Neokleous K.2,3, Avraamides M.N.1,2,4 — European Journal of Psychology Open

1Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus  ·  2CYENS Centre of Excellence  ·  3MentisVR Ltd.  ·  4Centre of Applied Neuroscience, University of Cyprus

Does training harder than the actual test give you an edge? This study tested whether progressively more intense VR goalkeeping training — where balls are shot increasingly faster — produces greater performance gains than training at a fixed intensity equal to the test.

Methods: Fifty participants completed a VR goalkeeping task (intercepting fast-approaching balls) across a pretest, three training sessions, and a posttest. The progressive-intensity group trained at speeds exceeding the test (speeds 7, 8, 9 vs. test speed 6); the fixed-intensity group trained at the same speed as the test. A separate Reaction Speed Task (RST) — touching lit targets in VR — was also administered pre and post to assess cognitive transfer. Mixed-design ANOVAs examined performance changes and condition differences.

Key findings: Both groups improved significantly from pretest to posttest in the goalkeeping task (p<0.001), but the improvement was equal across conditions (t(47)=0.95, p=.35). RST scores also improved substantially (F(1,47)=94.22, p<0.001, η²=.16), again equally across conditions. Heart rate data confirmed equal physical effort, ruling out motivational confounds. GT and RST gain scores were positively correlated (r=0.295, p=.040), suggesting shared cognitive/motor processes.

Conclusion: Training under harder-than-test conditions provides no additional benefit over matched-intensity training for perceptuomotor tasks relying on attentional skills. These findings challenge the progressive overload principle when applied to cognitive sport tasks, while confirming VR as an effective short-term training tool.

DOI: 10.1024/2673-8627/a000021  ·  License: CC BY 4.0  ·  Data: OSF

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Spotlight on Current Projects.

Active studies currently underway in collaboration with our university partners, exploring the frontiers of sports cognition and immersive training.

Goalkeeping under environmental pressure
In Progress Undergraduate Thesis
MENTIS / C-01 — YOUTH GOALKEEPERS

Goalkeeping under environmental pressure.

Investigates the effects of simulated hostile crowd noise on blocking performance in youth goalkeepers — measuring physiological arousal and perceived exertion (RPE) to understand how pressure shapes perceptual-motor performance.

DEPT UCY PSYCH TYPE Thesis MEASURES Arousal + RPE

This undergraduate thesis, conducted at the Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, investigates the effects of simulated hostile crowd noise on blocking performance in youth goalkeepers. In addition to behavioral performance, the study examines associated changes in physiological arousal and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), aiming to better understand how pressure influences perceptual-motor performance.

Reactive agility training and goalkeeping performance
Completed Publication Pending
MENTIS / C-02 — REACTIVE AGILITY

Reactive agility training & goalkeeping performance.

Can a 1-minute light-based reactive agility intervention acutely enhance goalkeeping? Two experiments with non-athlete participants completed — findings now being prepared for publication.

DEPT UCY PSYCH EXPERIMENTS ×2 STATUS Write-up

This project, recently completed by four undergraduate students at the Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, examines whether a short-duration (1-minute) reactive agility intervention using light-based stimuli can enhance subsequent goalkeeping performance. Two experiments with non-athlete participants were conducted, and the findings are currently being prepared for publication.

Lower-limb strength and goalkeeping performance
In Progress Neuromuscular
MENTIS / C-03 — UCLAN CYPRUS

Lower-limb strength & goalkeeping performance.

Examining whether explosiveness and isokinetic strength predict goalkeeping outcomes in professional goalkeepers — using force plates (ground reaction forces) to assess jump performance and neuromuscular characteristics.

INST UCLan Cyprus COHORT Pro GKs MEASURES Force Plates + Isokinetic

This ongoing project at the University of Central Lancashire Cyprus examines the relationship between goalkeeping performance and neuromuscular characteristics of the lower limbs. Explosiveness is assessed by measuring jump performance on force plates (i.e., ground reaction forces) and complemented by isokinetic strength testing in professional goalkeepers, with the aim of identifying key physical predictors of performance.

Cognitive abilities and player performance evaluation
In Progress Cognitive
MENTIS / C-04 — UCY × DIGENIS MORPHOU

Cognition & football intelligence.

Do attention and working memory predict coach-rated football intelligence? A collaboration between UCY Psychology and Digenis Morphou Football Academy clarifying how general cognitive functions relate to sport-specific performance evaluations.

DEPT UCY PSYCH PARTNER Digenis Morphou MEASURES Attention + Working Memory

This project, conducted by researchers at the Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus in collaboration with the Digenis Morphou Football Academy, explores the extent to which attention and working memory capacities are associated with coach-rated football intelligence. The study seeks to clarify the contribution of general cognitive functions to sport-specific performance evaluations.

Judo expertise and goalkeeping performance
Completed Conference
MENTIS / C-05 — JUDO × GOALKEEPING

Judo expertise & goalkeeping performance.

Do black-belt judokas outperform non-judokas in a goalkeeping task? Findings explore whether performance metrics align with IJF competitive ranking — to be presented at the European College of Sport Science conference.

COHORT Black Belts VENUE ECSS STATUS Conference

This recently completed project examined whether black-belt judokas outperform non-judokas in a goalkeeping task, and whether performance metrics are associated with competitive ranking within the International Judo Federation. The findings will be presented at the upcoming conference of the European College of Sport Science.

Multiple object tracking in football players
In Progress VR · MOT
MENTIS / C-06 — UCY PSYCH

Multiple object tracking & domain specificity.

Do football players outperform non-athletes on MOT tasks? Two variants tested — a domain-general computer version and a football-specific VR version — to assess whether domain specificity improves cognitive assessment in sport.

DEPT UCY PSYCH TOOLS MOT + VR VARIANTS General + Sport-Specific

This ongoing project at the Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, examines whether football players differ from non-athlete controls in performance on multiple object tracking (MOT) tasks. Two task variants are employed: a computer-based, domain-general version and a football-specific version presented in virtual reality. The study aims to evaluate the extent to which domain specificity enhances the sensitivity and ecological validity of cognitive assessment tools in sport.

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