Abstract
EEG alpha power was recorded in bilateral temporal and central regions of experienced marksmen during comparable preparatory periods for three shooting tasks that varied in perceptual-motor complexity to determine if previously observed temporal asymmetries reported in the literature were due to cognitive or motor processes. In the Postural Control (PC) condition, the participants held the rifle in the shooting position, but they did not aim the rifle or pull the trigger. In the Motor Control (MC) condition, the participants held the rifle in the shooting position and dry-fired the rifle, but without aiming at the target. In the Shooting (SH) condition, the participants executated live shots on-target as they normally would during competition. Hypotheses were that (1) alpha power would be greater in the left versus right temporal region in the SH condition relative to the PC and MC conditions, and (2) alpha power should not differ in the central region among the three shooting task variations. The results supported the hypotheses as the marksmen revealed greater left temporal alpha power in the SH condition compared to the PC to the MC conditions. Although right temporal alpha power was also greater in the SH condition than the PC and MC conditions, left temporal power was significantly higher than right temporal power in the SH condition. In addition, the left and right central regions did not differ among shooting task conditions. These findings suggest that the relatively higher left temporal alpha power observed during shooting is associated with attentional strategies, and is not just a reflection of the motor control demands of shooting.
Published Version
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