To assess whether the brain processes of action anticipation are modulated differently by perceptual and motor experiences, baseball batters, pitchers, and non-players were asked to predict the fate of pitching actions (strike or ball) while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results showed both batters (perceptual experts of pitching action) and pitchers (motor experts) were more accurate than non-players. Furthermore, batters demonstrated higher perceptual sensitivity in discriminating strikes than non-players. All groups engaged the action observation network, putamen, and cerebellum during anticipation, while pitchers showed higher activity than non-players in the left premotor cortex, which has been implicated in the internal simulation of observed action. Only batters exhibited differences in strike versus ball pitches in their left ventral extrastriate cortex, which might be associated with the processing of relevant visual information conveyed by the observed pitcher’s movement kinematics and pitch trajectory. Moreover, all groups showed higher activity selectively in the striatum, thalamus, sensorimotor cortices, and cerebellum during correct predictions than during incorrect ones, with most widespread activation in batters, reinforcing the greater involvement of the sensorimotor system in perceptual experience. Our findings demonstrate that perceptual experience might enhance action anticipation ability to a greater extent than motor experience, with overlapping but specific neural underpinnings.

The physiological adaptive regulation of healthy population with a high fitness level is associated with enhanced cognitive control in brain. This study further investigated the effects of different levels of sporting experience on intrinsic brain networks involved in central autonomic processing using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. We explored functional connectivity of four core regions within central autonomic network (CAN), namely posterior midcingulate cortex (pMCC), left amygdala (AMYG), and right anterior (aINS) and left posterior insular cortices, in advanced and intermediate baseball players, and compared their strength of connectivity with individuals without baseball-playing experience. Functional connectivity maps across three groups confirmed a close relationship between CAN and large-scale brain networks in sensory, motor and cognitive domains. Crucially, both advanced and intermediate batters demonstrated enhanced connectivity between pMCC and sensorimotor network, between right aINS and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and between left AMYG and right putamen, than controls. These results reflected a stronger interregional coupling in sensorimotor and cognitive control, and in motor skill consolidation. In conclusion, we provided evidence that different levels of sporting experience could reorganize/enhance intrinsic functional connectivity for central autonomic processing.

We aimed to investigate the structural neuroplasticity associated with different levels of sports experience and its effect on the corresponding resting-state functional circuitry. We recruited 18 skilled baseball batters (SB), 19 intermediate baseball batters (IB), and 17 healthy controls (HC), and used magnetic resonance imaging methods to compare their regional gray-matter volume (GMV) and seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). Our results revealed that a quadratic function could better depict intergroup differences in regional GMV than a linear function. In particular, the IB showed lower or higher regional GMV than the other two groups. The difference in GMV in the supplementary motor area and areas belonging to the ventral stream, including the middle temporal gyrus and middle temporal pole, might be possibly related to baseball-specific motor and perceptual experience, such as inhibitory action control and pitch identification. On the other hand, the stronger rsFC seeded from the right middle temporal pole to the default mode network, particularly in the precuneus, in the SB and IB relative to that in the HC might be possibly associated with the theory of mind, such as deciding whether to swing or not against the pitcher by detecting the spatial information of pitches. In conclusion, our three-group design enabled the capture of the unique and transient changes that occur during the intermediate phase of expertise development. Our findings indicated that structural and functional brain changes do not necessarily linearly increase as a function of experience as previously suggested by the literature.

Dry eye syndrome (DES) is a multifactorial disorder of the ocular surface affecting many people all over the world. However, there have been many therapeutic advancements for the treatment of DES, substantial long-term treatment remains a challenge. Natural plant-based polysaccharides have gained much importance in the field of tissue engineering for their excellent biocompatibility and unique physical properties. In this study, polysaccharides from a Chinese ground orchid, Bletilla striata, were successfully extracted and incorporated into the artificial tears for DES treatment due to its anti-inflammatory and mucoadhesive properties. The examination for physical properties such as refractive index, pH, viscosity and osmolality of the Bletilla striata polysaccharide (BSP) artificial tears fabricated in this study showed that it was in close association with that of the natural human tears. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and inflammatory gene expression tested in human corneal epithelium cells (HCECs) indicated that the low BSP concentrations (0.01–0.1% v/v) could effectively reduce inflammatory cytokines (TNF, IL8) and ROS levels in HCECs, respectively. Longer retention of the BSP-formulated artificial tears on the ocular surface is due to the mucoadhesive nature of BSP allowing lasting lubrication. Additionally, a rabbit’s DES model was created to evaluate the effect of BSP for treating dry eye. Schirmer test results exhibited the effectiveness of 0.1% (v/v) BSP-containing artificial tears in enhancing the tear volume in DES rabbits. This work combines the effectiveness of artificial tears and anti-inflammatory herb extract (BSP) to moisturize ocular surface and to relieve the inflammatory condition in DES rabbit, which further shows great potential of BSP in treating ocular surface diseases like DES in clinics in the future.

The goal of this study was to reconcile inconsistency of neural engagement underlying action anticipation between experts and nonexperts, as well as between correct and incorrect anticipations. Therefore, we asked novice, intermediate, and skilled baseball batters (N, IB, and SB) to anticipate their swing decisions in response to pitching videos of a strike or ball, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Behavioral results confirmed the effect of expertise that is generally shown in a linear fashion. Imaging results instead revealed a nonlinear relationship between expertise level and the evoked response amplitude of nodes within the action observation network. The relationship was best captured by an inverted U-shaped quadratic response profile across the three groups such that IB exhibited higher activation than did both SB and N. These empirical findings extend the framework of predictive coding as well as of neural efficiency in anticipating the action of others, and they might be associated with the underlying process to interpret the goal of the observed action and prepare one's own response. Furthermore, the right anterior cerebellum showed different levels of activation for correct and incorrect anticipations in all groups, adding novel evidence of its subtle involvement in anticipation processes irrespective of expertise status.

Previous studies have revealed that several cortical signatures are associated with superior motor performance in sports, particularly precision sports. This review examined the strength of the evidence from these studies so that a clear conclusion could be drawn and a concrete direction for future efforts revealed. A total of 26 articles assessing the relationship between cortical activity and precision motor performance were extracted from databases. This review concluded that among the electroencephalographic components examined, only sensorimotor rhythm demonstrated a consistent and causal relationship with superior precision motor performance, whereas findings related to the left temporal alpha and frontal theta and alpha rhythms were not consistent and lacked the evidence needed to draw a causal inference for a role in superior precision motor performance. Future studies would benefit from methodological improvements including larger sample sizes, narrower skill-gap comparisons, evidenced-based and refined neurofeedback-training protocols, and consideration of ecological validity.

In-network caching is an important feature of Information Centric Networking (ICN

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