Key result
HR decelerations and task-specific EEG changes during action preparation explain superior expert athletic performance.
Why the study?
The mechanisms underlying superior performance of expert athletes compared to novices during preparation for action in self-paced aiming sports are not fully understood.
Do specific cortical and cardiac responses during preparation for action differentiate expert athletes from novices in self-paced aiming sports?
Do specific cortical and cardiac responses during preparation for action differentiate expert athletes from novices in self-paced aiming sports?
Expert performance in self-paced aiming sports is associated with specific psychophysiological responses, including heart rate deceleration and task-specific EEG changes during preparation.
May inform biofeedback training in athletes; leaves open efficacy in prospective interventional trials.
Expert sport stars reliably execute their skills with remarkable precision and accuracy. To provide an insight into the mechanisms that underpin the superior performance of experts compared to novices, this article critically reviews experiments that have examined cortical activity (i.e., movement related cortical potentials; EEG spectral power) and cardiac activity (i.e., dynamic changes in heart rate) during preparation for action in self-paced aiming sports. It suggests that decelerations in heart rate and task-specific changes in EEG activity during preparation for action can explain superior expert performance. These psychophysiological responses are interpreted in terms of preparatory information processing and response programming, before suggestions for future research into the psychophysiology of preparation for action are outlined.
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Andrew Cooke (2012) conducted a review in Preparation for action in self-paced aiming sports. Cortical and cardiac activity (EEG and heart rate changes) vs. Novices was evaluated on Superior expert performance. Decelerations in heart rate and task-specific changes in EEG activity during preparation for action can explain the superior performance of expert athletes compared to novices.
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