Abstract
Brain dynamics is at the basis of top performance accomplishment in sports. The search for neural biomarkers of performance remains a challenge in movement science and sport psychology. The non-invasive nature of high-density electroencephalography (EEG) recording has made it a most promising avenue for providing quantitative feedback to practitioners and coaches. Here, we review the current relevance of the main types of EEG oscillations in order to trace a perspective for future practical applications of EEG and event-related potentials (ERP) in sport. In this context, the hypotheses of unified brain rhythms and continuity between wake and sleep states should provide a functional template for EEG biomarkers in sport. The oscillations in the thalamo-cortical and hippocampal circuitry including the physiology of the place cells and the grid cells provide a frame of reference for the analysis of delta, theta, beta, alpha (incl.mu), and gamma oscillations recorded in the space field of human performance. Based on recent neuronal models facilitating the distinction between the different dynamic regimes (selective gating and binding) in these different oscillations we suggest an integrated approach articulating together the classical biomechanical factors (3D movements and EMG) and the high-density EEG and ERP signals to allow finer mathematical analysis to optimize sport performance, such as microstates, coherency/directionality analysis and neural generators.
Highlights
For top performance accomplishment in sports, the brain dynamics needs to be taken into account because it determines both motor control and crucial psychological factors, such as intrinsic motivation (Pedersen, 2002), selective attention (Arjona et al, 2014; Abdollahipour et al, 2015), goal setting (West and Thorn, 2001), working memory (Dipoppa and Gutkin, 2013), decision making (Renfree et al, 2014), positive self-concept (Badami et al, 2012), and self-control (Ali et al, 2012; Chiviacowsky et al, 2012).In practical terms, neuronal oscillations can be readily recorded in a non-invasive way in human allowing the possibility to follow the dynamics of brain working during activity
Such approach allows establishing functional links between the multiple neurophysiological signals in order to identify the different neural generators in the brain (Figure 1). The aim of such studies is the characterization of an array of electroencephalographic (EEG) dynamics biomarkers of sport performance analogous to those proposed in mental health (Basar et al, 2013; Olbrich and Arns, 2013; Loo et al, 2015)
Whisking movement of mouse is not directly related to sport movement in human these results shed a new light on the mechanism underlying the event related spectral perturbation (ERSP) analysis applied on the EEG recorded in sport
Summary
For top performance accomplishment in sports, the brain dynamics needs to be taken into account because it determines both motor control and crucial psychological factors, such as intrinsic motivation (Pedersen, 2002), selective attention (Arjona et al, 2014; Abdollahipour et al, 2015), goal setting (West and Thorn, 2001), working memory (Dipoppa and Gutkin, 2013), decision making (Renfree et al, 2014), positive self-concept (Badami et al, 2012), and self-control (Ali et al, 2012; Chiviacowsky et al, 2012). The optimized state of performance reached by sport elites offers a privileged domain for studying the different neuronal oscillations linked to sensorimotor and cognitive control getting to final success or failure.
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