Unconscious response inhibition differences between table tennis athletes and non-athletes

You, Yihong; Ma, Yiming; Ji, Zhiguang; Meng, Fanying; Li, An-Min; Zhang, Chunhua

doi:10.7717/peerj.5548

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Athletes showed a significant unconscious response priming effect compared to non-athletes, which suggests that athletes exhibited superior unconscious information processing. This finding is consistent with the results of a previous study showing that motor expertise promotes unconscious response inhibition in the general cognitive domain (You et al, 2018). We speculate that motor expertise possessed by athletes facilitates unconscious information processing.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Motor expertise affects the unconscious processing of geometric forms

Geng

Meng

Wang

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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Background The unconscious processing of information is an important skill used by competitive athletes to handle the rapidly changing movements of opponents and equipment. Previous studies have shown that unconscious information processing among athletes is better than that among non-athletes in the sports-specific domain. However, it is not yet clear whether athletes also show superior unconscious information processing in the general cognitive domain. Methods Twenty-five competitive table tennis players (athletes) and 26 aged-matched non-athletic college students (non-athlete controls) were recruited for this study. Participants first performed a masked priming task that used geometric shapes as primes and targets to examine unconscious information processing in the general cognitive domain. As a control, participants then completed a prime identification task to determine whether they could consciously detect the priming geometric forms. Reaction times and error rates were analyzed to examine whether motor expertise influenced unconscious information processing in the general domain. Nineteen athletes and 17 non-athletes from our present study, which used general stimuli, also participated in our previous study, which used sport-specific stimuli. The strength of the unconscious response priming effect was analyzed to examine whether the effect of motor expertise on unconscious processing could be transferred from a sports-specific domain to a general domain. Results Signal detection analyses indicated that neither athletes nor non-athletes could consciously perceive the priming stimuli. Two-way repeated-measures analyses of variance followed by simple main effects analyses of the masked priming performance, indicating that athletes responded faster and committed fewer errors when the priming stimulus was congruent with the target stimulus. These results suggested that athletes exhibited a significant unconscious response priming effect of geometric forms. By contrast, non-athletes did not respond faster or commit fewer errors for congruent vs. incongruent conditions. No significant difference was detected between athletes and non-athletes in error rates for congruent trials, but athletes committed significantly more errors than non-athletes on incongruent trials. The strength of the unconscious response priming effect that athletes exhibited was greater than that for non-athletes, both in the present study with general stimuli and in our previous study with sport-specific stimuli. Conclusion The results indicated that motor expertise facilitated the unconscious processing of geometric forms, suggesting that the influence of motor expertise on unconscious information processing occurs not only for the sports-specific domain but also transfers to the general cognitive domain.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Motor expertise affects the unconscious processing of geometric forms

Geng

Meng

Wang

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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“…This is especially true in fast sports such as table tennis (TT), which consist of very specific physiological and physical demands [ 6 , 7 , 8 ] and a high contribution of cognitive resources [ 9 ]. These cognitive demands can be linked to the immense time pressure of the game [ 9 ] and the need to stay focused in an open sport environment [ 10 , 11 ]. Research has also shown that TT athletes display faster visuomotor reaction times [ 9 , 12 ], a higher level of executive functions [ 13 ], better unconscious response inhibition [ 11 ] and greater dual task performance [ 14 ] compared to non-athletes, novices or even medium-level TT players.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These cognitive demands can be linked to the immense time pressure of the game [ 9 ] and the need to stay focused in an open sport environment [ 10 , 11 ]. Research has also shown that TT athletes display faster visuomotor reaction times [ 9 , 12 ], a higher level of executive functions [ 13 ], better unconscious response inhibition [ 11 ] and greater dual task performance [ 14 ] compared to non-athletes, novices or even medium-level TT players. However, this important contribution of cognitive skills is not exclusively beneficial, as this may lead to a higher mental load on the individual, which can result in a higher risk of suffering decrements in performance due to mental fatigue (MF) [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Fatigue-Associated Decrease in Table Tennis Performance: Is There an Electrophysiological Signature?

Habay

Proost

Wachter

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Mental fatigue (MF) is a psychobiological state negatively impacting both cognitive and physical performance. Although recent research implies that some table tennis (TT) performance outcomes are impaired by MF, open skill sports such as TT require a more detailed overview of MF-related performance decrements. Moreover, research into MF and sport-specific psychomotor performance lacks the inclusion of brain-related measurements to identify MF mechanisms. Eleven experienced TT players participated in this randomized counterbalanced crossover trial. Participants were either required to perform an individualized Stroop task (MF condition) or watch a documentary (control condition). The primary outcomes were reaction time on a sport-specific visuomotor task and EEG activity throughout the trial. The subjective feeling of MF was significantly different between both conditions and confirmed that the MF condition induced the mentally fatigue state of participants (p < 0.001), though no behavioral indicators (i.e., decrease in performance on Stroop and flanker task) of MF. MF worsened reaction time on the visuomotor task, while other secondary measurements remained largely ambiguous. Spectral power (i.e., decreases in upper α band and θ band) was influenced by MF, while ERPs measured during the visuomotor task remained unaltered. The present study confirms that MF negatively impacts table tennis performance, specifically inhibitory stimuli during the visuomotor task. These findings also further augment our understanding of the effects of MF on human performance.

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“…Forty-two participants participated voluntarily and received financial compensation after completing all the experiments. In order to find an interaction between expertise and response congruency in line with You et al. (2018) power analysis (G*Power 3.1, α = 0.05, power = 0.80, effect size = 0.24) showed that a minimum 16 volunteers needed to participate.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Motor expertise modulates unconscious rather than conscious executive control

Meng

You

et al. 2019

PeerJ

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BackgroundExecutive control, the ability to regulate the execution of a goal-directed task, is an important element in an athlete’s skill set. Although previous studies have shown that executive control in athletes is better than that in non-athletes, those studies were mainly confined to conscious executive control. Many recent studies have suggested that executive control can be triggered by the presentation of visual stimuli without participant’s conscious awareness. However, few studies have examined unconscious executive control in sports. Thus, the present study investigated whether, similar to conscious executive control, unconscious executive control in table tennis athletes is superior to that in non-athletes.MethodsIn total, 42 age-matched undergraduate students were recruited for this study; 22 nonathletic students lacking practical athletic experience comprised one group, and 20 table tennis athletes with many years of training in this sport comprised a second group. Each participant first completed an unconscious response priming task, the unconscious processing of visual-spatial information, and then completed a conscious version of this same response priming task.ResultsTable tennis athletes showed a significant response priming effect, whereas non-athletes did not, when participants were unable to consciously perceive the visual-spatial priming stimuli. In addition, the number of years the table tennis athletes had trained in this sport (a measure of their motor expertise) was positively correlated with the strength of the unconscious response priming effect. However, both table tennis athletes and non-athletes showed a response priming effect when the primes were unmasked and the participants were able to consciously perceive the visual-spatial priming stimuli.ConclusionOur results suggest that motor expertise modulates unconscious, rather than conscious, executive control and that motor expertise is positively correlated with unconscious executive control in table tennis athletes.

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Unconscious response inhibition differences between table tennis athletes and non-athletes

Cited by 18 publications

References 43 publications

Motor expertise affects the unconscious processing of geometric forms

Motor expertise affects the unconscious processing of geometric forms

Mental Fatigue-Associated Decrease in Table Tennis Performance: Is There an Electrophysiological Signature?

Motor expertise modulates unconscious rather than conscious executive control

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