Strike or ball? Batters know it better: an fMRI study of action anticipation in baseball players

Abstract

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.

Neural and cognitive underpinnings of ball/strike judgments of baseball umpires: An fMRI study

“…Previous studies have examined players' superior perceptual anticipation ability (for reviews, see Loffing & Canal-Bruland, 2017;Williams & Jackson, 2019) and its neural and cognitive underpinnings (for reviews, see Karlinsky et al, 2017;Smith, 2016). Compared to their less skilled counterparts or non-players, skilled baseball batters can anticipate with more accuracy whether a pitch would be a strike or ball owing to their greater visual/perceptual experience with pitching actions and (at least partially) their motor experience in pitching (Chen et al, 2017(Chen et al, , 2020(Chen et al, , 2022Paull & Glencross, 1997;Ranganathan & Carlton, 2007).…”

“…Previous fMRI studies have extensively examined the decision-making processes (particularly, action anticipation) of players (Karlinsky et al, 2017;Smith, 2016). Such processes greatly engage the action observation network (AON), including the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal regions that are activated when viewing others' actions (Caspers et al, 2010;Papitto et al, 2020), as well as the subcortical motor-related regions, including the caudate, putamen, and cerebellar regions Chen et al, 2020Chen et al, , 2022Diersch et al, 2013;Wright et al, 2013). Among the AON nodes, the inferior frontal gyrus/ventral premotor cortex (IFG/vPMC) and superior and inferior parietal lobules/intraparietal sulcus (SPL/IPL/IPS) possess the so-called mirror properties that activate both while performing an action and when observing others perform it (Molenberghs, Cunnington, & Mattingley, 2012;Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004).…”

“…Among the AON nodes, the inferior frontal gyrus/ventral premotor cortex (IFG/vPMC) and superior and inferior parietal lobules/intraparietal sulcus (SPL/IPL/IPS) possess the so-called mirror properties that activate both while performing an action and when observing others perform it (Molenberghs, Cunnington, & Mattingley, 2012;Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004). Thus, these nodes are associated with the internal simulation of observed pitching action (Chen et al, 2022). Apart from its mirror property, the PMC is involved in predicting ongoing dynamic events ranging from human actions to non-biological actions such as ocean waves (Schubotz, 2007;Wolfensteller, Schubotz, & von Cramon, 2007), reinforcing its role in action anticipation (Chen et al, 2020(Chen et al, , 2022.…”

“…Thus, these nodes are associated with the internal simulation of observed pitching action (Chen et al, 2022). Apart from its mirror property, the PMC is involved in predicting ongoing dynamic events ranging from human actions to non-biological actions such as ocean waves (Schubotz, 2007;Wolfensteller, Schubotz, & von Cramon, 2007), reinforcing its role in action anticipation (Chen et al, 2020(Chen et al, , 2022.…”

“…The other AON node, the posterior middle temporal gyrus/superior temporal sulcus, is also activated when observing the action of a biological motion (Grossman et al, 2000;Grossman, Jardine, & Pyles, 2010;Herrington, Nymberg, & Schultz, 2011;Pelphrey, Morris, Michelich, Allison, & McCarthy, 2005;Saygin, 2007), implying that pitching action can be processed using the structural and kinematic information of joints (Chen et al, 2020). Furthermore, when viewing strike versus ball pitches, batters show different brain activation intensities within the AON nodes (Chen et al, 2020), particularly in the left ventral extrastriate cortex (Chen et al, 2020(Chen et al, , 2022. This activation is possibly associated with the processing of the relevant visual information conveyed by the pitching action and baseball trajectory.…”