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Ji Q, Liu L, Lu Y, Zhou C, Wang Y. Mechanisms of Action Anticipation in Table Tennis Players: A Multivoxel Pattern Analysis Study. Neuroscience 2024; 546:33-40. [PMID: 38513759 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
An exceptional ability to accurately anticipate an opponent's action is paramount for competitive athletes and highlights their experiential mastery. Despite conventional associations of action observation with specific brain regions, neuroimaging discrepancies persist. To explore the brain regions and neural mechanisms undergirding action anticipation, we compared distinct brain activation patterns involved in table tennis serve anticipation of expert table tennis athletes vs. non-experts by using both univariate analysis and multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA). We collected functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 29 table tennis experts and 34 non-experts as they pressed a button to predict the trajectory of a ball in a table tennis serve video truncated at the moment of racket-ball contact vs. pressing any button while viewing a static image of the first video frame. MVPA was applied to assess whether it could accurately differentiate experts from non-experts. MVPA results indicated moderate accuracy (90.48%) for differentiating experts from non-experts. Brain regions contributing most to the differentiation included the left cerebellum, the vermis, the right middle temporal pole, the inferior parietal cortex, the bilateral paracentral lobule, and the left supplementary motor area. The findings suggest that brain regions associated with cognitive conflict monitoring and motor cognition contribute to the action anticipation ability of expert table tennis players.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingchun Ji
- Department of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, No. 333, Longteng Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China; Sports Economic Management Research Center, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, No. 333, Longteng Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Likai Liu
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, No. 650, Qingyuanhuan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Motor Cognitive Assessment and Regulation, Shanghai University of Sport, No. 650, Qingyuanhuan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingzhi Lu
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, No. 650, Qingyuanhuan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Motor Cognitive Assessment and Regulation, Shanghai University of Sport, No. 650, Qingyuanhuan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Chenglin Zhou
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, No. 650, Qingyuanhuan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Motor Cognitive Assessment and Regulation, Shanghai University of Sport, No. 650, Qingyuanhuan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingying Wang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, No. 650, Qingyuanhuan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Motor Cognitive Assessment and Regulation, Shanghai University of Sport, No. 650, Qingyuanhuan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.
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Chen YH, Huang SK. The influence of pitcher handedness on pitch-calling behavior: Insights from fMRI study on baseball umpires. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14501. [PMID: 38217057 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
This functional magnetic resonance imaging study delves into the impact of experience and pitcher handedness on the pitch-calling behavior of baseball umpires. Expert and intermediate umpires were asked to make ball/strike calls on videotaped pitches of left- and right-handed pitchers and rate their certainty for the call while undergoing scanning. Behavioral results replicated previous findings that expert umpires were more certain but not more accurate or quicker than intermediate umpires, suggesting that, as sports officials, umpires may learn to project confidence to maintain control of the game. At the neural level, expert umpires exhibited more extensive and pronounced activations within the action observation network, dorsal striatum, and cerebellum. These heightened neural responses were probably associated with their enhanced visual processing abilities for pitching action and ball trajectory, honed over years of officiating. Notably, both expert and intermediate umpires exhibited decreased accuracy when judging pitches from left-handed pitchers compared to right-handed ones. These challenges in accuracy corresponded with weaker neural activations in the aforementioned brain regions, implying difficulties in processing specific visual details of the rarely encountered left-handed pitchers. Moreover, slightly longer reaction times and reduced uncertainty were observed particularly for left-handed ball pitches, as revealed by lower activation in the right premotor cortex, highlighting issues with predictive processing. In summary, our findings shed light on the influence of pitcher handedness on the pitch-calling behavior of baseball umpires and extend the current understanding of the perceptual and decision-making behavior of sports officials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin-Hua Chen
- Graduate Institute of Athletics and Coaching Science, National Taiwan Sport University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Kuei Huang
- Department of Physical Education, Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Liu L, Wang Y, Mou H, Zhou C, Liu T. Motor experience modulates neural processing of lexical action language: Evidence from rugby players. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2024; 249:105369. [PMID: 38150793 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
The perceptual symbol theory proposes a sensorimotor simulation in language processing, emphasizing the role of motor experience. However, the neural basis of motor experience on lexical-level language processing remains little known. In the current fMRI study, we compared brain activation and task-based functional connectivity in 28 rugby players and 28 novices during rugby- specialized and daily verb processing. Distinct differences were observed between the two groups in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus and left angular gyrus regions during specialized verb processing. Notably, intergroup functional connectivity was evident between the left superior temporal gyrus and the right precentral gyrus during specialized verb processing. This study contributes insights into the neural responses and connectivity patterns associated with motor experience at the lexical level, highlighting its potential impact on language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Likai Liu
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China; Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Yingying Wang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China; Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Hong Mou
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China; Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Chenglin Zhou
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China; Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Tianze Liu
- Department of Orthopedics, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai 200433, China.
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Zanini A, Dureux A, Selvanayagam J, Everling S. Ultra-high field fMRI identifies an action-observation network in the common marmoset. Commun Biol 2023; 6:553. [PMID: 37217698 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04942-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The observation of others' actions activates a network of temporal, parietal and premotor/prefrontal areas in macaque monkeys and humans. This action-observation network (AON) has been shown to play important roles in social action monitoring, learning by imitation, and social cognition in both species. It is unclear whether a similar network exists in New-World primates, which separated from Old-Word primates ~35 million years ago. Here we used ultra-high field fMRI at 9.4 T in awake common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) while they watched videos depicting goal-directed (grasping food) or non-goal-directed actions. The observation of goal-directed actions activates a temporo-parieto-frontal network, including areas 6 and 45 in premotor/prefrontal cortices, areas PGa-IPa, FST and TE in occipito-temporal region and areas V6A, MIP, LIP and PG in the occipito-parietal cortex. These results show overlap with the humans and macaques' AON, demonstrating the existence of an evolutionarily conserved network that likely predates the separation of Old and New-World primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Zanini
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
| | - Audrey Dureux
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Janahan Selvanayagam
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Stefan Everling
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
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