Abstract
Objectives: This three-wave longitudinal study examined intra-seasonal cognitive trajectories across a competitive basketball season in youth basketball players and age-comparable non-athlete controls. Methods: Ninety-one youth basketball players (U12, U14, U16) and 30 non-athlete controls completed computerized cognitive assessments at pre-season, mid-season, and post-season. Visuospatial attention (Change Detection Test [CDT]), motion anticipation (Timewall Test), and inhibitory control with processing speed (Flanker Task) were evaluated under standardized laboratory conditions. Primary athlete-control analyses combined the U12 and U14 cohorts (~U13), whereas U16 analyses were exploratory and included basketball players only because no age-comparable U16 control group was available. Results: Basketball players and non-athlete controls showed small, nominally significant differences in competitive seasonal change in visual attention and change-detection ability (p = 0.046, η2 = 0.017) and response time (p = 0.020, η2 = 0.025). Basketball players also showed within-season improvements in temporal estimation and motion anticipation (p < 0.001). Processing speed improved similarly in both groups, with no significant Time × Group interaction (p = 0.92), whereas Flanker accuracy (p = 0.40) and interference control (p = 0.82) showed no significant differential seasonal change. Exploratory U16 analyses showed no significant seasonal changes across the assessed cognitive domains (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: Cognitive performance changed selectively across the competitive season. Differences between basketball players and non-athlete controls were most evident in the seasonal pattern of change-detection performance. At the same time, basketball players also showed within-group improvements in temporal estimation and motion anticipation. Processing speed improved in both groups. Overall, the findings indicate domain-specific longitudinal cognitive changes but do not establish basketball-specific causal effects.