Högskolan i Skövde

Cognitive warm-up is an emerging field within cognitive neuroscience, with many potential applications. We propose that an appropriate cognitive task can pre-activate specific cognitive functions and thereby enhance performance in subsequent tasks that engage the same functions. The study employed a mixed design, including a warm-up group and a control group, with all participants completing two sessions. In the warm-up session, the warm-up group played two VR brain-training games, while the control group engaged in passive relaxation within the VR environment. Cognitive ability was assessed using the PASAT in both sessions. The results indicated a possible effect of the warm-up, by counteracting practice effects. However, limitations such as small sample size, session order imbalance, and potential confounding factors mean that the results are inconclusive, and further research is needed. Despite this, the potential usefulness of cognitive warm-ups, especially in high-demand situations, makes it a valuable area for continued investigation.