ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Elite Sports and Performance Enhancement
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1658468
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Cognitive Era in Sports Performance: Mental Fatigue, Cognitive Training, Sleep and Psychological Ergogenic Substances-Volume IIView all 10 articles
The Influence of Cereboost on Mood, Cognitive Function, and Simulated Driving in Professional Race Car Drivers
Provisionally accepted
- 1Michigan State University, East Lansing, United States
- 2Givaudan Suisse SA, Vernier, Switzerland
- 3University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Introduction: Race car driving is a physically and cognitively demanding sport requiring rapid decision-making under extreme conditions. While physical training and hydration strategies have been explored, few studies have investigated nutritional interventions to enhance cognitive or driving performance. This study examined the effects of Cereboost, an American Ginseng extract, on mood, cognitive function, and simulated driving performance in professional race car drivers. Methods: Fifty-eight licensed drivers completed a four-phase, within-subjects protocol (baseline, acute, chronic, and acute-on-chronic) involving 200 mg/day Cereboost supplementation. Assessments included validated mood questionnaires, cognitive testing via the Senaptec Sensory Station (spatial memory and split attention), and 30-minute sessions in a professional-grade racing simulator. Statistical analyses included ANOVA with Holm-Bonferroni corrections. Results: Cereboost had no statistically significant effects on mood or cognitive function after correction for multiple comparisons. However, chronic and acute-on-chronic supplementation significantly improved simulated driving performance, with a 3-second reduction in lap time and faster throttle application in corners (adjusted p = 0.000003, Cohen's d = –1.274). Participants reported subjective improvements in mental acuity (97%) and driving performance (94%). Conclusion: While Cereboost did not significantly alter mood or cognitive test outcomes, sustained supplementation enhanced simulated driving performance in professional drivers. These findings suggest potential benefits of nootropic supplementation for motorsport performance, warranting further investigation in on-track settings.
Keywords: driver science, Cognitive Function, American ginseng, Motorsports, Supplements
Received: 02 Jul 2025; Accepted: 20 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ferguson, Franca-Berthon, Williams and Le Cozannet. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: David P Ferguson, Michigan State University, East Lansing, United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.