Brain Oscillations in Sport: Toward EEG Biomarkers of Performance (original) (raw)
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EEG applications for sport and performance
Methods, 2008
One approach to understanding processes that underlie skilled performing has been to study electrical brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG). A notorious problem with EEG is that genuine cerebral data is often contaminated by artifacts of non-cerebral origin. Unfortunately, such artifacts tend to be exacerbated when the subject is in motion, meaning that obtaining reliable data during exercise is inherently problematic. These problems may explain the limited number of studies using EEG as a methodological tool in the sports sciences. This paper discusses how empirical studies have generally tackled the problem of movement artifact by adopting alternative paradigms which avoid recording during actual physical exertion. Moreover, the specific challenges that motion presents to obtaining reliable EEG data are discussed along with practical and computational techniques to confront these challenges. Finally, as EEG recording in sports is often underpinned by a desire to optimise performance, a brief review of EEGbiofeedback and peak performance studies is also presented. A knowledge of practical aspects of EEG recording along with the advent of new technology and increasingly sophisticated processing models offer a promising approach to minimising, if perhaps not entirely circumventing, the problem of obtaining reliable EEG data during motion.
Neural Markers of Performance States in an Olympic Athlete: An EEG Case Study in Air-Pistol Shooting
2016
This study focused on identifying the neural markers underlying optimal and suboptimal performance experiences of an elite air-pistol shooter, based on the tenets of the multi-action plan (MAP) model. According to the MAP model's assumptions, skilled athletes' cortical patterns are expected to differ among optimal/automatic (Type 1), optimal/controlled (Type 2), suboptimal/controlled (Type 3), and suboptimal/automatic (Type 4) performance experiences. We collected performance (target pistol shots), cognitive-affective (perceived control, accuracy, and hedonic tone), and cortical activity data (32-channel EEG) of an elite shooter. Idiosyncratic descriptive analyses revealed differences in perceived accuracy in regard to optimal and suboptimal performance states. Event-Related Desynchronization/Synchronization analysis supported the notion that optimal-automatic performance experiences (Type 1) were characterized by a global synchronization of cortical arousal associated with ...
NeuroImage, 2007
Electroencephalographic (EEG; Be-plus Eb-Neuro©) and stabilogram (RGM©) data were simultaneously recorded in 19 elite karate and 18 fencing athletes and in 10 non-athletes during quiet upright standing at open-and closed-eyes condition in order to investigate the correlation between cortical activity and body sway when the visual inputs are available for balance. Our working hypothesis is that, at difference of nonathletes, athletes are characterized by enhanced cortical information processing as indexed by the amplitude reduction of EEG oscillations at alpha rhythms (about 8-12 Hz) during open-referenced to closed-eyes condition (event-related desynchronization, ERD). Balance during quiet standing was indexed by body "sway area". Correlation between alpha ERD and event-related change of the sway area was computed by a nonparametric test (p<0.05). It was found that alpha ERD (10-12 Hz) is stronger in amplitude in the karate and fencing athletes than in the nonathletes at ventral centro-parietal electrodes of the right hemisphere (p<0.02). Furthermore, there was a statistically significant correlation in the karate athletes between right ventral centro-parietal alpha ERD and body sway area (r=0.61; p<0.008): specifically, the greater the alpha ERD, the greater the percentage reduction of the body sway area when the visual inputs were available. These results suggest that parasylvian alpha ERD of the right hemisphere may reflect the cortical information processing for the balance in elite athletes subjected to a long training for equilibrium control.
Visuo‐attentional and sensorimotor alpha rhythms are related to visuo‐motor performance in athletes
2009
This study tested the two following hypotheses: (i) compared with non-athletes, elite athletes are characterized by a reduced cortical activation during the preparation of precise visuo-motor performance; (ii) in elite athletes, an optimal visuo-motor performance is related to a low cortical activation. To this aim, electroencephalographic (EEG; 56 channels; Be Plus EB-Neuro) data were recorded in 18 right-handed elite air pistol shooters and 10 right-handed non-athletes. All subjects performed 120 shots. The EEG data were spatially enhanced by surface Laplacian estimation. With reference to a baseline period, power decrease/increase of alpha rhythms during the preshot period indexed the cortical activation/deactivation (event-related desynchronization/synchronization, ERD/ERS). Regarding the hypothesis (i), low-(about 8-10 Hz) and high-frequency (about 10-12 Hz) alpha ERD was lower in amplitude in the elite athletes than in the non-athletes over the whole scalp. Regarding the hypothesis (ii), the elite athletes showed high-frequency alpha ERS (about 10-12 Hz) larger in amplitude for high score shots (50%) than for low score shots; this was true in right parietal and left central areas. A control analysis confirmed these results with another indicator of cortical activation (beta ERD, about 20 Hz). The control analysis also showed that the amplitude reduction of alpha ERD for the high compared with low score shots was not observed in the non-athletes. The present findings globally suggest in Wiley InterScience (www.
Brain electrical activities of dancers and fast ball sports athletes are different
Cognitive Neurodynamics, 2014
Exercise training has been shown not only to influence physical fitness positively but also cognition in healthy and impaired populations. However, some particular exercise types, even though comparable based on physical efforts, have distinct cognitive and sensorimotor features. In this study, the effects of different types of exercise, such as fast ball sports and dance training, on brain electrical activity were investigated. Electroencephalography (EEG) scans were recorded in professional dancer, professional fast ball sports athlete (FBSA) and healthy control volunteer groups consisting of twelve subjects each. In FBSA, power of delta and theta frequency activities of EEG was significantly higher than those of the dancers and the controls. Conversely, dancers had significantly higher amplitudes in alpha and beta bands compared to FBSA and significantly higher amplitudes in the alpha band in comparison with controls. The results suggest that cognitive features of physical training can be reflected in resting brain electrical oscillations. The differences in resting brain electrical oscillations between the dancers and the FBSA can be the result of innate network differences determining the talents and/or plastic changes induced by physical training.
Neuroscience, 2011
It has been shown that elite pistol shooters are characterized by a power increase of wide cortical electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha (about 8 -12 Hz) and beta (about 14 -35 Hz) rhythms during the preparation of air pistol shots, possibly related to selective attentional and "neural efficiency" processes [Del Percio C, Babiloni C, Bertollo M, Marzano N, Iacoboni M, Infarinato F, Lizio R, Stocchi M, Robazza C, Cibelli G, Comani S, Eusebi F (2009a) Hum Brain Mapp 30(11):3527-3540; Del Percio C, Babiloni C, Marzano N, Iacoboni M, Infarinato F, Vecchio F, Lizio R, Aschieri P, Fiore A, Toràn G, Gallamini M, Baratto M, Eusebi F (2009b) Brain Res Bull 79(3-4):193-200]. Here, we tested the hypothesis that such processes are associated with an enhanced functional coupling of posterior cortical regions involved in task-relevant attentional processes and visuo-motor transformations.
2011
It has been shown that elite pistol shooters are characterized by a power increase of wide cortical electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha (about 8 -12 Hz) and beta (about 14 -35 Hz) rhythms during the preparation of air pistol shots, possibly related to selective attentional and "neural efficiency" processes [Del Percio C, Babiloni C, Bertollo M, Marzano N, Iacoboni M, Infarinato F, Lizio R, Stocchi M, Robazza C, Cibelli G, Comani S, Eusebi F (2009a) Hum Brain Mapp 30(11):3527-3540; Del Percio C, Babiloni C, Marzano N, Iacoboni M, Infarinato F, Vecchio F, Lizio R, Aschieri P, Fiore A, Toràn G, Gallamini M, Baratto M, Eusebi F (2009b) Brain Res Bull 79(3-4):193-200]. Here, we tested the hypothesis that such processes are associated with an enhanced functional coupling of posterior cortical regions involved in task-relevant attentional processes and visuo-motor transformations.
Features of the Brain Electrical Activity of Athletes-Fighters in Comparison with Non-athletes
International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, 2023
The study of the neural mechanisms underlying sports performance was aimed at studying the characteristics of the brain electrical activity of athletesfighters in comparison with non-athletes. Thirty young men of 19.97±0.23 years old (with the height of 179.82±2.15 cm and the body weight of 78.61±1.68 kg) engaged in wrestling (with the qualification "Master of Sports"), and thirty young men of 19.25±0.18 years old (with the height of 178.35±2.25 cm and the body weight of 77.93±1.45 kg), not involved in sports, analyzed the frequency ranges delta, theta, alpha, beta 1 and beta 2 rhythms of electroencephalography (EEG) at rest in three epochs: the first epoch with closed eyes, the second epoch with open eyes, and the third epoch with closed eyes. The results of the study showed that in wrestlers, the neural advantage over non-athletes is expressed only in a decrease in alpha rhythm fluctuations: with closed eyes in the left hemisphere by 17.07% (p<0.05), and in the right hemisphere by 17.35% (p<0.05). With open eyes, the difference was 21.17% (p<0.01) in the left hemisphere and 19.27% (p<0.05) in the right hemisphere, which indicates a lower cortical activity of the brain of athletes. At the same time, the coefficient of reactivity (CR) of the alpha rhythm during the receipt of visual information in athletes in the left hemisphere is 20% higher, and when it is interrupted, it is 18% lower than in non-athletes. In the right hemisphere, CR does not differ. We concluded that wrestlers recruited fewer neural resources without compromising performance, supporting the hypothesis of neuronal flexibility in the brains of athletes compared to non-athletes.
Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science, 2015
Psychomotor imagery has been widely used to improve motor performance and motor learning. Recent research suggests that during visualization, changes occur in neurophysiological networks that make physical practice more effective in configuring functional networks for skillful behaviors. The aim of our pilot study was to determine if there was change and to what extent there was differentiation in modulation in electroencephalography (EEG) frequencies between visualizing a state of rest and a state of exercise performance and to identify the preponderant frequency. Design: Quasi-experimental design uncontrolled before and after study. Methods: EEG brain wave activity was recorded from 0-40 Hz from nine cerebral cortical scalp regions F3, Fz, F4, C3, Cz, C4, P3, POz, and P4 with a wireless telemetric EEG system. The subjects, while sitting on a chair with eyes closed, were asked to visualize themselves in a state of routine rest/relaxation and after a period of time in a state of their routine exercise performance. Results: The gamma frequency, 31-40 Hz, (γ) was the predominant wave band in differentiation between visualizing a state of rest versus visualizing a state of exercise performance. Conclusions: We suggest these preliminarily findings show the EEG electrocortical activity for athletes is differentially modulated during visualization of exercise performance in comparison to rest with a predominant γ wave band frequency observed during the state of exercise. Further controlled experimental studies will be performed to elaborate these observations and delineate the significance to optimization of psychomotor exercise performance.
Clinical Neurophysiology, 2007
In this study, we tested the hypothesis that a pre-stimulus brief (1 min) 10-Hz audio-visual flickering stimulation modulates alpha EEG rhythms and cognitive-motor performance in elite athletes and in non-athletes during visuo-spatial demands. Methods: Electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded (56 channels; EB-Neuro) in 14 elite fencing athletes and in 14 non-athletes during visuo-spatial-motor demands (i.e. subjects had to react to pictures of fencing and karate attacks). The task was performed after pre-stimulus 15-(placebo) or 10-Hz (experimental) flickering audio-visual stimulation lasting 1 min and after no stimulation (baseline). Results: With reference to the baseline condition, only the 10-Hz stimulation induced a negative correlation between pre-stimulus alpha power and reaction time in the fencing athletes and non-athletes as a single group. The higher the enhancement of alpha power before the pictures, the stronger the improvement of the reaction time. The maximum effects were observed in right posterior parietal area (P4 electrode) overlying sensorimotor integrative cortex. Similar results were obtained in a control experiment in which eight elite karate subjects had to react to pictures of karate and basket attacks. Conclusions: The present results suggest that a preliminary 10-Hz sensory stimulation can modulate EEG alpha rhythms and sensorimotor performance in both elite athletes and non-athletes engaged in visuo-spatial-motor demands. Significance: Identification of the EEG state of sporting experts prior to their performance provides a plausible rationale for the modulation of alpha rhythms to enhance sporting performance in athletes and sensorimotor performance in patients to be rehabilitated.