Quantitative EEG evaluation for performance level analysis of professional female soccer players

Modelling the relationships between EEG signals, movement kinematics and outcome in soccer kicking

The contribution of cortical activity (e.g. EEG recordings) in various brain regions to motor control during goal-directed manipulative tasks using lower limbs remains unexplored. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to determine the magnitude of associations between EEG-derived brain activity and soccer kicking parameters. Twenty-four under-17 players performed an instep kicking task (18 m from the goal) aiming to hit 1 × 1 m targets allocated in the goalpost upper corners in the presence of a goalkeeper. Using a portable 64-channel EEG system, brain oscillations in delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma frequency bands were determined at the frontal, motor, parietal and occipital regions separately for three phases of the kicks: preparatory, approach and immediately prior to ball contact. Movement kinematic measures included segmental linear and relative velocities, angular joint displacement and velocities. Mean radial error and ball velocity were assumed as outcome indicators. A significant influence of frontal theta power immediately prior to ball contact was observed in the variance of ball velocity (R 2 = 35%, P = 0.01) while the expression of occipital alpha component recorded during the preparatory phase contributed to the mean radial error (R 2 = 20%, P = 0.049). Ankle eversion angle at impact moment likely mediated the association between frontal theta power and subsequent ball velocity (β = 0.151, P = 0.06). The present analysis showed that the brain signalling at cortical level may be determinant in movement control, ball velocity and accuracy when performing kick attempts from the edge of penalty area. Trial registration number #RBR-8prx2m-Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials ReBec.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11571-022-09786-2.

Quantitative EEG in sports: performance level estimation of professional female soccer players

Purpose

Measuring the peak performance of athletes remains a challenge in movement science and sports psychology. Non-invasive quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) recordings can be used to analyze various factors in sports psychology.

Method

In this context, sports-related psychological factors were used to estimate the performance of Thai professional female soccer players before a competition. The QEEG recordings of thirty-two players were recorded three times: twice before a competition (once a week) and a week after a competition. Four factors of sports psychology were estimated and observed: anxiety, perceptual response to an acute bout of brain activity, assertiveness, and brain central fatigue. A brain topographic map (absolute power) and brain connectivity (coherence and amplitude asymmetry) data were used to analyze sports-related psychological factors. These factors were measurable based on the brain activity of the athletes and could be used to evaluate their performance during competitions by using QEEG values.

Results

Sports-related psychological performance was estimated by Pearson's correlation coefficients, which revealed that a quick perceptual response to an acute bout of brain activity could predict an athlete's performance during competition (r = .584, p = .000). Additionally, Spearman's correlation coefficients were used to estimate athletes performance. The results revealed a strong relationship ( r s =.634, p = .000), which was derived from the summation of anxiety and perceptual response to an acute bout of brain activity.

Conclusion

Consequently, the results of the present study can provide information to help staff coaches to choose the best performing players, representing an alternative method for accurately selecting key players in the competitive sports community.

Influence of Judo Experience on Neuroelectric Activity During a Selective Attention Task

OBJECTIVE

We compared the cognitive performance and neuroelectric responses during a selective attentional task in judo athletes with different levels of expertise.

METHODS

Judo black and white belt athletes performed both general and specific fitness tests while simultaneously completing a Stroop color-word test recorded by 64 electroencephalogram channels.

RESULTS

Cognitive behavioral performance and event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) present no differences between groups. However, the topographic analysis found different neural source patterns in each group. Judo black belts compared to judo white belts presented a greater peak amplitude of P300 in the middle frontal gyrus and of N200 in the cuneus, but slower latency of P300 in the precuneus.

CONCLUSION

Despite no difference in cognitive behavioral performance, judo expertise causes a difference in the allocation of attentional and conflict detection neural resources.

Competitive Psychological Disposition and Perception of Performance in Young Female Soccer Players

The athletes' psychological disposition is a factor that is increasingly considered by researchers as a key to sports performance, even as a mediator between the physical, technical and tactical abilities of the athlete and their competitive performance, thus acquiring great relevance in training and in sports performance. The purpose of this study is to analyze the psychological characteristics of young soccer players and their relation to their performance perception, made both by the player herself and by their coaches. The sample is composed of 108 women (M age = 15.53, SD age = 1.05), with ages between 13 and 17 years (13 years, n = 1, 14 years, n = 18, 15 years, n = 36, 16 years, n = 29, 17 years, n = 24), and with a sport practice experience of 7.27 years on average (SD = 2.64). For to address this aim, we used the Psychological Characteristics related to the Sport Performance Questionnaire (CPRD) and the Psychological Skills Inventory for Sports (PSIS). In addition, regarding the evaluation of performance perception, an ad hoc short questionnaire was created, composed by one question addressed to the player and one directed to the coach. The results indicate that the group of players of the under-16 category obtained higher scores in all the psychological dimensions than the U-18 players, showing significant differences in Team Cohesion (p < 0.048). Regarding the degree of congruence between the player's psychological features, and the player's and coach's performance perceptions, the results show statistically significant and negative correlations between the Team Cohesion factor and the athlete's own outcome perception for the match #1 (rxy = -0.479; p < 0.001), and match #2 (rxy = -0.402; p < 0.01). The results of this study may contribute to establish the differences between different constellations of psychological characteristics according to the categories of competition and their relationship with the perception of performance. This knowledge can be used by sports professionals: coaches, psychologists, physical educators, etc., in order to help athletes to reach their maximum performance.

A cognitive brain-computer interface monitoring sustained attentional variations during a continuous task

We introduce a cognitive brain–computer interface based on a continuous performance task for the monitoring of variations of visual sustained attention, i.e. the self-directed maintenance of cognitive focus in non-arousing conditions while possibly ignoring distractors and avoiding mind wandering. We introduce a visual sustained attention continuous performance task with three levels of task difficulty. Pairwise discrimination of these task difficulties from electroencephalographic features was performed using a leave-one-subject-out cross validation approach. Features were selected using the orthogonal forward regression supervised feature selection method. Cognitive load was best predicted using a combination of prefrontal theta power, broad spatial range gamma power, fronto-central beta power, and fronto-central alpha power. Generalization performance estimates for pairwise classification of task difficulty using these features reached 75% for 5 s epochs, and 85% for 30 s epochs.

Effects of aerobic exercise on sad emotion regulation in young women: an electroencephalograph study

The effects of exercise on cognitive abilities have been studied. However, evidence regarding the neural substrates of sad emotion regulation is limited. Women have higher rates for affective disorders than men, but insufficient outcomes assess how aerobic exercises modulate central frontal activation in sad emotion inhibition and resilience among healthy women. This study investigated the effects of aerobic exercise-related brain activity on sad emotion inhibition processing in young women. Sad facial Go/No-Go and neutral Go/No-Go trials were conducted among 30 healthy young women to examine the changes in the N2 component, which reflects frontal inhibition responses, between pre-exercise and post-exercise periods. The first test was performed before aerobic exercise (baseline; 1st) and the second test was performed during an absolute rest period of 90 min after exercise. The sad No-Go stimuli that evoked N200 (N2) event-related potential were recorded and analyzed. The results showed that in the sad No-Go trials, N2 activation at the central-prefrontal cortex was significantly attenuated after exercise compared to the baseline N2 activation. Exercise-modulated N2 activation was not observed in the neutral No-Go trials. The behavioral error rates of sad No-Go trials did not differ between the two experiments. A reduced engagement of central-frontal activation to sad No-Go stimuli was shown after exercise. However, behavioral performance was consistent between the two measurements. The findings scope the benefits of the aerobic exercise on the neural efficiency in responding to sad emotion-eliciting cues as well as adaptive transitions reinstatement for regulatory capabilities in healthy young women.

Mitigation of stress: new treatment alternatives

Complaints of stress are common in modern life. Psychological stress is a major cause of lifestyle-related issues, contributing to poor quality of life. Chronic stress impedes brain function, causing impairment of many executive functions, including working memory, decision making and attentional control. The current study sought to describe newly developed stress mitigation techniques, and their influence on autonomic and endocrine functions. The literature search revealed that the most frequently studied technique for stress mitigation was biofeedback (BFB). However, evidence suggests that neurofeedback (NFB) and noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) could potentially provide appropriate approaches. We found that recent studies of BFB methods have typically used measures of heart rate variability, respiration and skin conductance. In contrast, studies of NFB methods have typically utilized neurocomputation techniques employing electroencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging and near infrared spectroscopy. NIBS studies have typically utilized transcranial direct current stimulation methods. Mitigation of stress is a challenging but important research target for improving quality of life.