Cognitive Health
The neuroscience of ping pong: Alzheimer's defense, dementia prevention, BDNF production, neuroplasticity, and brain structure changes.
Table Tennis Beats Track for Executive Function in Children with ADHD and Dyslexia
A 12-week randomized trial showed table tennis training improved inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and visual perception more than track-and-field in children with ADHD and developmental dyslexia (p < 0.05 for Group × Time interactions).
Table Tennis Restores Visual Perception in Adolescents With Developmental Coordination Disorder
An 8-week table tennis intervention with task-oriented approach significantly improved visual perception in adolescents with developmental coordination disorder, including visual-motor search, visual-motor speed, figure-ground, and visual closure skills.
Why Open-Skill Exercise Beats Running for Protecting the Aging Brain
A 2025 narrative review in Brain Sciences concludes that aerobic open-skill exercise like table tennis is more effective than closed-skill exercise at preventing age-related cognitive decline and dementia, backed by meta-analyses showing superior inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and measurable changes in brain wiring.
Table Tennis vs. Alzheimer's: The Brain Sport Science
A 2026 meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials and 1,565 participants found table tennis produces very large effect sizes for cognitive and balance improvement. The mechanism involves BDNF release, increased cerebral blood flow, and white matter structural changes.