Last time we spoke of Chris Billam-Smith, he had about two weeks left until his fight with Richard Riakporhe. Since then, his cognitive performance has improved by 11% with CONKA and he’s defended his world title in the cruiserweight division. What an honour, although certainly expected, it has been for us to watch such an incredible athlete retain his world champion status whilst on CONKA! Particularly considering Chris’ life story and journey through the ranks, this victory feels extra special for us at CONKA. But what was going on inside his brain during preparation for the fight, training, and the fight itself?
Although many may have seen Chris’ impressive performance and win against Richard Riakporhe this June, most wouldn’t know he had been taking part in a trial with us at CONKA. We got to see, up close, the change in his cognitive performance from the beginning, all the way through to training and up to the very end when holding up the WBO Cruiserweight belt. During the trial, Chris consumed the CONKA product every day for two months, starting with a baseline week on April 18th, followed by a trial period where he took CONKA twice a day while we monitored his brain performance with the tests available on our app (including FDA and CE-approved cognICA test, memory, and focus tests). We also monitored performance through eye-tracking technology, a tool that has recently gained attention within the academic and medical field for analysing cognitive processing and memory1.
Apart from measuring ballistic movements of the eyes, eye trackers can provide continuous recordings of pupil diameter, which are crucial to interpret cognitive states and mental processes2. Eye tracking has also been found able to indicate how long it takes for the subject to reach a decision, the effect of the expected reward on a decision, or self-confidence about the outcome of the decision3. It seems that the speed of saccades (quick eye movements) increases with certainty and accumulated evidence4. In addition, saccades, pursuit metrics, blinks, and pupil dilation are linked to dopamine activity, which is tied to reward processing5. For example, an increase in saccade speed indicates the expectation of a reward, while anticipating effort tends to slow it down6.
This kind of data is valuable for understanding how athletes like Chris think and react during training and competitions. It shows how cognitive states and expectations influence performance, giving insights that can help optimise training and strategies for future fights.
Take a look below for Chris’ cognition scores during baseline (off-CONKA) versus trial (on CONKA), alongside his improvement rates for each test.
Cognition Tests | Baseline | Trial | Improvement |
Memory | 80 | 88.3 | +10.4% |
Focus | 60 | 84 | +40% |
Trail Making | 66 | 69.8 | +5.8% |
CognICA | 89 | 89.4 | +0.5% |
CognICA Speed | 93 | 96.4 | +3.7% |
CognICA Accuracy | 96 | 91.2 | -5% |
Compared to baseline, we can see that there were improvements across all cognitive scores apart from CognICA accuracy. When interviewing Chris back in June, he mentioned he felt more focused and better at general decision making after starting CONKA. This aligns well with his impressive 40% boost in focus. We also observed a 10.4% improvement in memory, 5.8% improvement in trail making (related to attention, motor function and visual search – which I’m sure you can imagine how may come in handy for a boxer) and 3.7% in cognICA speed. Interestingly, the data also shows how Chris’ performance varied between the weight cut period and the trial period (general training phase).
Cognition Tests | Cut Period Only | All Trial | Cut VS Trial Improvement | Fight Day | Baseline VS Fight |
Memory | 70 | 92 | +31.4% |
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Focus | 80 | 85 | +6.25% |
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CognICA | 85 | 90.4 | +6.4% | 90.9 | +2.11% |
CognICA Speed | 97 | 95.5 | -1.6% | 98.8 | +6.2% |
CognICA Accuracy | 88 | 90 | +5.3% | 90 | -6.25% |
One aspect worth noting is the significant improvement in CognICA during the trial period compared to the cut period, indicating that his cognitive functions were sharper during general training. This could be attributed to the physical and mental strain of weight cutting (check out the blog on the effects of weight cutting on boxers’ mental and physical health)7. This finding emphasises the importance of tracking an athlete's brain performance, as it can help coaches understand athletes' mental and physical states and adapt training routines accordingly.
On the day of the fight, Chris’ performance data reveals that despite the pressures and stresses associated with the event, he manages to maintain high levels of speed and cognitive ability, with only slight variations from his baseline measures. His CognICA showed a modest improvement from the baseline, reflecting his ability to stay focused and perform under pressure. The slight decrease in accuracy may be explained by training-induced fatigue and general anxiety pre-fight.
In addition to cognition tests, we monitored Chris’ accuracy, speed and attention using eye-tracking data. Below are his improvements from baseline to trial period.
Eye tracking | Baseline | Trial Period | Improvement |
Accuracy | 74 | 80 | +8.11% |
Speed | 57.7 | 55.2 | -4.33% |
Attention | 2.3 | 2.98 | +29.57% |
As if improving scores across all cognitive tests wasn’t enough, Chris’ eye-tracking data revealed yet another impressive 30% improvement in attention and 8% improvement in accuracy. Intriguingly, there was a slight decrease in speed this time – perhaps a suggestion that when one is up, the other one is down between speed and accuracy? We will keep a closer look during these athlete trials to bring you more detailed and accurate information every time. But one thing is beyond clear: CONKA will get you closer to that win.
Leticia Hosang, BSc
Leticia is a sports science, sports psychology and neuroscience researcher, previously working with Brunel London University and exploring the effects of exercise on brain activity.
References
1. Miseviciute, I. What can eye tracking reveal about cognitive processes? https://www.tobii.com/resource-center/learn-articles/what-eye-tracking-reveals-about-cognitive-processes
2. Brunyé, T. T., Drew, T., Weaver, D. L., & Elmore, J. G. (2019). A review of eye tracking for understanding and improving diagnostic interpretation. Cognitive research: principles and implications, 4, 1–16.
3. Spering, M. (2022). Eye movements as a window into decision-making. Annual review of vision science, 8(1), 427–448.
4. Seideman, J. A., Stanford, T. R., & Salinas, E. (2018). Saccade metrics reflect decision-making dynamics during urgent choices. Nature communications, 9(1), 2907.
5. Hikosaka, O., Kim, H. F., Yasuda, M., & Yamamoto, S. (2014). Basal ganglia circuits for reward value–guided behavior. Annual review of neuroscience, 37(1), 289–306.
6. Shadmehr, R., Reppert, T. R., Summerside, E. M., Yoon, T., & Ahmed, A. A. (2019). Movement vigor as a reflection of subjective economic utility. Trends in neurosciences, 42(5), 323–336.
7. Hosang, L. (2024). The Weight of Success: Navigating the Challenges of Making Weight in Boxing. https://www.conka.io/post/the-weight-of-success-navigating-the-challenges-of-making-weight-in-boxing
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