How do anxiety and stress affect soccer referees? An ERPs study.

The decision-making of soccer referees is one of the typical forms influenced by factors such as environmental pressure and individual emotions. While previous studies have explored how common factors like personal anxiety and on-field pressure affect the decisions of soccer referees, the mechanisms by which anxiety influences decision-making under pressure remain unclear. This study developed a penalty task based on real soccer match scenarios and recruited 76 experienced soccer referees. These referees were divided into two groups, high anxiety and low anxiety, based on their anxiety levels, to perform decision-making tasks under different pressure environments simulated to mimic real matches. Additionally, this research employed Event-Related Potential (ERP) technology to compare the brain signals of soccer referees with different levels of anxiety when facing foul play under various pressure environments. It was found that referees with high levels of anxiety displayed larger P300 and N400 amplitudes in a low-pressure environment (p = 0.0059, t = 2.9437). However, no significant differences in P300 and N400 amplitudes were observed between referees with high and low levels of anxiety under high-pressure conditions (p = 0.1890, t = 1.3411). This study not only reveals the complex mechanisms of anxiety in the decision-making process of referees but also emphasizes the importance of understanding and managing the psychological state of referees in competitive sports to improve the quality of their decisions. Our findings provide an empirical basis for future efforts to mitigate the impact of anxiety and optimize the decision-making process in similar high-pressure environments.

Influence Mechanism of the Home Advantage on Referees' Decision-Making in Modern Football Field - A Study From Sports Neuro-Decision Science.

As professional football stadiums continue to grow in popularity worldwide, fans are able to watch the game in closer proximity, but the design of professional football stadiums to shorten the distance between fans and the playing field also exacerbates the impact of the home advantage on the referee's decision to call a penalty. Studies have confirmed the existence of the home advantage and found that experienced referees can reduce the impact of this interference, but the neural mechanisms behind this phenomenon have not been adequately investigated. In this study, we designed a soccer referee decision making task based on a home field effect scenario in a real soccer game, and used event-related potentials (ERPs) to compare the decision making and EEG differences between individuals with different experience levels when faced with foul actions under spectator noise interference. The experiments showed that individuals with different experience levels triggered a significant ERN EEG component when performing the penalty decision task under the home field effect factor, suggesting that the interference of the home field effect may lead referees to correct their previous decision-making behavior patterns in the penalty decision and reduce unfavorable calls against the home team. In contrast, referees with officiating experience elicited smaller ERN amplitudes compared to other subjects, suggesting that experience factors may inhibit this tendency to change behavioral patterns. This study suggests that in response to the increasing trend of professional football stadiums, policy makers should place more emphasis on enhancing the experience level of referees in the training of referees to ensure the fairness of the game.

[Clinical observation of the height of the alveolar after bone grafting in cleft alveolar repair in various ages.].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the changes of transplanted bones after cancellous iliac bone grafting in cleft alveolar repair in various ages. METHODS: The patients were divided into A and B groups according to their canine eruption. The changes of alveolar height in grafting regions were examined by clinical follow up and radiographs after the cancellous iliac bone grafting in cleft alveolar repair. RESULTS: The bone grafting before the eruption of canines was more effective than that after eruption. The orthodontics after operation can increase the alveolar height. CONCLUSION: The alveolar height after the bone grafting in cleft alveolar repair increased with the eruption of canines.