Abstract
Some studies show that the medial frontal cortex is associated with more skilled action anticipation, while similar findings are not observed in some other studies, possibly due to the stimuli employed and the participants used as the control group. In addition, no studies have investigated whether there is any functional connectivity between the medial frontal cortex and other brain regions in more skilled action anticipation. Therefore, the present study aimed to re-investigate how the medial frontal cortex is involved in more skilled action anticipation by circumventing the limitations of previous research and to investigate that the medial frontal cortex functionally connected with other brain regions involved in action processing in more skilled action anticipation. To this end, professional badminton players and novices were asked to anticipate the landing position of the shuttlecock while watching badminton match videos or to judge the gender of the players in the matches. The video clips ended right at the point that the shuttlecock and the racket came into contact to reduce the effect of information about the trajectory of the shuttlecock. Novices who lacked training and watching experience were recruited for the control group to reduce the effect of sport-related experience on the medial frontal cortex. Blood oxygenation level-dependent activation was assessed by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging. Compared to novices, badminton players exhibited stronger activation in the left medial frontal cortex during action anticipation and greater functional connectivity between left medial frontal cortex and some other brain regions (e.g., right posterior cingulate cortex). Therefore, the present study supports the position that the medial frontal cortex plays a role in more skilled action anticipation and that there is a specific brain network for more skilled action anticipation that involves right posterior cingulate cortex, right fusiform gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule, left insula and particularly, and left medial frontal cortex.
Highlights
From an evolutionary perspective, the anticipation of an upcoming action based on environmental cues is of great importance for individuals’ survival, as it may help individuals estimate other people’s or animal’s intentions in order to better prepare adaptive reactions to approach safety and avoid harm
The present study aimed to re-investigate whether more skilled action anticipation is associated with activation of the medial frontal cortex by circumventing the limitations of previous research
It aimed to investigate how the medial frontal cortex had functional connectivity with other brain regions involved in action processing in more skilled action anticipation
Summary
The anticipation of an upcoming action based on environmental cues is of great importance for individuals’ survival, as it may help individuals estimate other people’s or animal’s intentions in order to better prepare adaptive reactions to approach safety and avoid harm. How action anticipation influences individuals’ behavior and neural activity has been an important topic of research in psychology and human neuroscience. Studies have investigated whether more skilled action anticipation can be reflected in neural activity. Wright et al (2010, 2011) found that compared to novices, badminton players exhibited enhanced activation in the medial frontal cortex when anticipating the direction of a badminton stroke. Wright et al (2013) did not find differential activation of the medial frontal cortex between high-skilled and low-skilled male soccer players when the players observed video clips of a person dribbling a ball and were required to predict the direction of the ball. When participants were asked to predict a basketball shot’s fate, differential activation of the medial frontal cortex was not observed between athletes and novices (Abreu et al, 2012; Wu et al, 2013)
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