Cognitive Processes During Self-Paced Motor Performance: An Electroencephalographic Profile of Skilled Marksmen

Abstract

In the initial phase of the study (Study 1) electrocortical arousal (EEG alpha activity) was assessed at four standardized sites (T3, T4, 01, and 02) from male and female (N = 17) international-caliber marksmen during rifle shooting performance. The task consisted of the execution of 40 shots at a conventional indoor target from the standing position. During each shot preparation, a significant increase in left temporal and occipital alpha activity was demonstrated, while the right hemispheric activity remained constant. Hemispheric laterality ratios (T4:T3) evidenced a significant shift toward right-brain dominance as the time to trigger pull approached. In the second phase of the study (Study 2) male and female (N = 15) marksmen performed the same shooting task and, additionally, the resultant EEG performance patterns were contrasted to those observed during the mental processing of sterotyped left-brain and right-brain mental tasks. Observed EEG patterns, that is, temporal ratios, during shooting replicated the results of Study 1, and furthermore, indicated that the laterality indices derived during shooting exhibited a more pronounced shift to right-brain processing than did those derived during right-brain mental task performance. The EEG data obtained during the comparative mental task states were used to interpret the shooting performance EEG findings in terms of the implications from bilateral or split-brain cognitive process theory.

Electroencephalographic functional equivalence during observation of action

“…Previous studies have revealed that successful rifle and pistol shooting performance is associated with increasing alpha-band (8 -13 Hz) power at certain sites across the cortex, especially the left anterior temporal cortex (e.g. Hatfield, Landers, & Ray, 1984). In contrast, poor shots have been associated with event-related desynchronization (e.g.…”

Signal Processing for Non-Invasive Brain Biomarkers of Sensorimotor Performance and Brain Monitoring

“…These studies revealed changes in EEG activity with skill learning as well as differences in EEG power between novice and expert sport performers (Del Percio et al, 2008;Hatfield et al, 1984Hatfield et al, , 2004Haufler et al, 2000;Kerick et al, 2004;Landers et al, 1994;Slobounov et al, 2007). Specifically, the power computed for the alpha and theta frequency bands were positively related to the level of motor performance (Del Percio et al, 2008;Hatfield et al, 2004;Haufler et al, 2000;Kerick et al, 2004).…”

“…It is important to note that these biomarkers are able to detect important differences in skills level such as those existing between novices and experts (e.g., Hatfield et al, 1984Hatfield et al, , 2004Haufler et al, 2000) as well as to identify the learning dynamic related to different types of tasks inducing different neural resources (e.g., Gentili et al, 2008Gentili et al, , 2009aKerick et al, 2004). Moreover, although their scalp locations and frequency band of interest present slight variations from one task to another, it appears that these biomarkers share also some frequency (e.g., alpha band) and spatial (e.g., temporal region) features while being located on specific electrodes for the various tasks tested.…”

“…Many different methods (e.g., parametric, non-parametric, and subspace methods) are available to compute the EEG/MEG spectral power (Kay, 1988;Sanei & Chambers, 2007;Shumway & Stoffer, 2000). For instance, some of these methods that have been applied are the classical fast Fourier transform (e.g., Hatfield et al, 1984;Haufler et al, 2000) and more sophisticated procedures such as the multitaper (e.g., Conteras-Vidal & Kerick, 2004) or wavelet (e.g., Mu et al, 2008) techniques. While some of these approaches have been applied with success in EEG/MEG studies that focus on sensorimotor performance and/or Brain Computer Interface (BCI) systems (McFarland et al, 2006;Pfurtscheller & Lopes da Silva, 1999), two methods are particularly popular to compute the EEG/MEG spectral power.…”

Recent advances in EEG monitoring for general anaesthesia, altered states of consciousness and sports performance science

“…Some are clear to the player and bystanders like the "yips" in golf -focal dystonia [9], and others are hidden but none the less important for peak performance. The "relaxed but focused" state or zone has been the subject of much research [6,8] but this has mainly been conducted under laboratory conditions. There seems to be a strong correlation of alpha activity with the zone and it was clear that the Bristol Process with its advantages over the FFT would be very suitable for players on the move.…”