Event-related potentials, reaction time, and response selection of skilled and less-skilled cricket batsmen.
The differences in P300 latency, P300 amplitude, response selection, and reaction time between skilled and less-skilled cricket batsmen have been investigated. Eight skilled and ten less-skilled right-handed batsmen each viewed 100 in-swing, 100 out-swing, and 40 slower deliveries displayed in random sequence from projected video footage whilst their responses and electroencephalograms were recorded. Logistic regression was used to derive a discriminative function for the P300 data. This was done to determine whether the skilled batsmen differed from the less-skilled batsmen on the basis of pooled P300 amplitude and latency data. All the batsmen were correctly characterised as being skilled or less-skilled. Logistic regression equations with reaction time and correctness of response data indicated that behavioural data do not correctly classify skilled performance. It is suggested that skilled cricket batsmen have a superior perceptual decision-making ability compared with less-skilled cricket batsmen, as measured by P300 latency and amplitude. This appears to be the first study showing a link between skill and cerebral cortical activity during a perceptual cricket batting task and it could pave the way for future studies on mental processing in cricket batsmen.
Sharhidd Taliep
M
M
MRC/UCT Research Unit for Exercise Science & Sports Medicine, Sports Science Institute of South Africa, Boundary Road, Newlands 7700, Cape Town, South Africa. staliep@sports.uct.ac.za
St Clair Gibson
A
A
Gray
J
J
van der Merwe
L
L
Vaughan
C L
CL
Noakes
T D
TD
Kellaway
L A
LA
John
L R
LR
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D004569:Electroencephalography; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D013177:Sports; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*