Exploring the relationship between cognitive abilities and motor performance in athletes with intellectual disabilities

Luca Cavaggioni^1,2*Damiano Formenti¹Linda Casalini¹Francesco Granito³Chiara Magro³Andrea Manente⁴Simona Canton⁵Nicola Lovecchio⁶Paolo Castiglioni^1,7Giampiero Merati^1,7

• ¹Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
• ²Obesity Unit and Laboratory of Nutrition and Obesity Research, Department of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
• ³Sciences of Preventive and Adapted Physical Activities, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy, Varese, Italy
• ⁴School of Medicine in Sports and Exercise, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, Italy, Varese, Italy
• ⁵School of Medicine in Sports and Exercise, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy, Verona, Italy
• ⁶Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy, Bergamo, Italy
• ⁷IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy, Milan, Italy

Introduction: Basketball practice for athletes with intellectual disabilities (ID) is an ancient activity, that stimulatesing both cognitive and motor performance domains. This studye aims of this study was to investigate verify the association relationship between cognitive performance and motor abilities performance in ID basketball players athletes with ID.Methods: 23 athletes participants with ID were screened on cognition (clinical reaction time and Bells test 30 s and 90 s), motor performance (handgrip strength test HST, countermovement jump CMJ, static balance), anthropometry (Body Mass Index BMI and skinfolds) in a cross-sectional design.Results: A strong negative relationship was observed between clinical reaction time with HST and CMJ variables. A strong positive association was also found between Bells test 30 s with anthropometric variables (BMI) and power-related CMJ outcomes. Linear regression models revealed that the CMJ concentric mean force explained for 34.3% of the performance time variance of performance time during the clinical reaction time, and the HST combined with BMI explains explained for 53% of the variance of athlete's cognitive ability during the Bells test 30 seconds.Conclusions: These results suggest a positive correlation between cognitive and motor performance that in ID basketball players with ID with superior cognitive performance present also better motor performance. These findings encourage further exploration of howto extend knowledge on which manner sport sports interventions could ameliorate physical and cognitive health status in ID individuals with ID within a sports performance context.