Judgment of actions in experts: A high-resolution EEG study in elite athletes (original) (raw)
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Behavioural Brain Research, 2010
Here we tested two working hypotheses on spatially selective cortical activation ("neural efficiency") in experts: (i) compared to non-athletes, elite karate athletes are characterized by a reduced cortical activation during the judgment of karate actions; (ii) compared to non-athletes and elite karate athletes, amateur karate athletes are characterized by an intermediate cortical activation during the judgment of karate actions. Electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded in 16 elite karate athletes, 15 amateur athletes and 17 non-athletes. They observed a series of 120 karate videos. At the end of each video, the subjects had to judge the technical/athletic level of the exercise by a scale from 0 to 10. The mismatch between their judgment and that of the coach indexed the degree of action judgment. The EEG cortical sources were estimated by sLORETA. With reference to a pre-stimulus period, the power decrease of alpha (8-12 Hz) rhythms during the video indexed the cortical activation (event-related desynchronization, ERD). Regarding the hypothesis of reduced activity in elite karate athletes, low-and high-frequency alpha ERD was less pronounced in dorsal and "mirror" pathways in the elite karate athletes than in the non-athletes. Regarding the hypothesis of intermediate cortical activity in amateur karate athletes, low-and high-frequency alpha ERD was less pronounced in dorsal pathways across the non-athletes, the amateur karate athletes, and the elite karate athletes. In conclusion, athletes' judgment of observed sporting actions is related to less pronounced alpha ERD, as a possible index of "neural efficiency" in experts engaged in social cognition.
NeuroReport, 2013
This study recorded brain event-related potentials (ERPs) during an attention task under two conditions: (a) immediately after strenuous exercise and (b) immediately after an extended rest period. The goal was to examine the effect of different physiological states on the electrophysiological data. As expected, a larger P3b ERP component was observed in response to attended infrequent events. Strenuous exercise did not differentially alter the amplitude or latency of the brain response during an attention task. This study reports a novel application of ERPs as a potential additional measure of the neurocognitive state that can be assessed on the sideline of a sporting event.
Perception, 2014
This study proposed that relative timing of high-alpha (10–12 Hz) left (T3) and right (T4) cortical temporal electroencephalographic (EEG) power levels would differentiate performance groups in a reactive sport such as cricket batting. The time course of EEG event-related alpha synchronisation (ERS) and desynchronisation was investigated in two groups (eight skilled and ten less skilled) of right-handed cricket batsmen whilst viewing projected video footage of a bowler delivering a randomised series of 24 deliveries repeated 10 times (total of 240 deliveries). Ball release from the bowler's hand was used as the corresponding reaction cue. Participants were instructed to press one of two buttons on a keypad to identify in-swingers or out-swingers. T3 ERS was significantly greater in skilled batsmen from approximately 1500 ms prior to ball release, but differences reduced close to ball release, reaching nonsignificance by 250 ms. There was no significant difference in T4 between t...
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 ...
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.
Dancers and fastball sports athletes have different spatial visual attention styles
Cognitive neurodynamics, 2018
Physical exercise and the training effects of repeated practice of skills over an extended period of time may have additive effects on brain networks and functions. Various motor skills and attentional styles can be developed by athletes engaged in different sports. In this study, the effects of fast ball sports and dance training on attention were investigated by event related potentials (ERP). ERP were recorded in auditory and visual tasks in professional dancer, professional fast ball sports athlete (FBSA) and healthy control volunteer groups consisting of twelve subjects each. In the auditory task both dancer and FBSA groups have faster N200 (N2) and P300 (P3) latencies than the controls. In the visual task FBSA have faster latencies of P3 than the dancers and controls. They also have higher P100 (P1) amplitudes to non-target stimuli than the dancers and controls. On the other hand, dancers have faster latencies of P1 and higher N100 (N1) amplitude to non-target stimuli and they...
International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2011
In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that compared with non-athletes, elite athletes are characterized by a reduction of reactivity of electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha rhythms (about 8-12 Hz) to eyes opening in the condition of resting state, as a possible index of spatially selective cortical activation (i.e. "neural efficiency"). EEG data (56 channels; Eb-Neuro©) were recorded in 18 elite karate athletes and 28 non-athletes during resting state eyes-closed and eyes-open conditions. The EEG data were spatially enhanced by surface Laplacian estimation. Cortical activity was indexed by task-related power decrease (TRPD), namely the alpha power during the eyes-open referenced to the eyes-closed resting condition. Low-frequency alpha TRPD (about 8-10 Hz) was lower in the elite karate athletes than in the non-athletes in frontal (p b 0.00002), central (p b 0.008) and right occipital (p b 0.02) areas. Similarly, high-frequency alpha TRPD (about 10-12 Hz) was lower in the elite karate athletes than in the non-athletes in frontal (p b 0.00009) and central (p b 0.01) areas. These results suggest that athletes' brain is characterized by reduced cortical reactivity to eyes opening in the condition of resting state, in line with the "neural efficiency" hypothesis. The present study motivates future research evaluating the extent to which this general functional brain feature is related to heritable trait or intensive visuo-motor training of elite athletes.
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.