Key result
Elite athletes demonstrated neural efficiency in the prefrontal cortex and insula during affective challenges compared to controls, suggesting less emotional reactivity to unpleasant stimuli.
Why the study?
Do elite athletes demonstrate neural efficiency during affective challenges compared to age-matched controls?
Population
Elite athletes with a history of successful performance under circumstances of mental stress, and…
Comparison
Emotional challenge induced by sport-specific… vs Age-matched controls
Design
Cross-sectional
Authors
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May support resilience to affective stress in athletes; hypothesis-generating for training effects on prefrontal-insula circuits, no practice change yet.
Case-Control
Do elite athletes demonstrate neural efficiency during affective challenges compared to age-matched controls?
Elite athletes demonstrate neural efficiency in emotion regulation brain regions during affective challenges, suggesting adaptive processing of negative events and less emotional reactivity.
Costanzo et al. (2016) conducted a case-control in Expert Cognitive-Motor Performers (Elite Athletes). Emotional challenge (sport-specific and general unpleasant images) vs. Age-matched controls was evaluated on Blood-oxygen level-dependent response (fMRI) during emotional challenge. Elite athletes demonstrated neural efficiency in the prefrontal cortex and insula during affective challenges compared to controls, suggesting less emotional reactivity to unpleasant stimuli.
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