Winning the game: brain processes in expert, young elite and amateur table tennis players.
(1) compared with amateurs and young elite, expert table tennis players are characterized by enhanced cortical activation in the motor and fronto-parietal cortex during motor imagery in response to table tennis videos; (2) in elite athletes, world rank points are associated with stronger cortical activation. To this aim, electroencephalographic data were recorded in 14 expert, 15 amateur and 15 young elite right-handed table tennis players. All subjects watched videos of a serve and imagined themselves responding with a specific table tennis stroke. With reference to a baseline period, power decrease/increase of the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) during the pretask- and task period indexed the cortical activation/deactivation (event-related desynchronization/synchronization, ERD/ERS). Regarding hypothesis (1), 8-10 Hz SMR ERD was stronger in elite athletes than in amateurs with an intermediate ERD in young elite athletes in the motor cortex. Regarding hypothesis (2), there was no correlation between ERD/ERS in the motor cortex and world rank points in elite experts, but a weaker ERD in the fronto-parietal cortex was associated with higher world rank points. These results suggest that motor skill in table tennis is associated with focused excitability of the motor cortex during reaction, movement planning and execution with high attentional demands. Among elite experts, less activation of the fronto-parietal attention network may be necessary to become a world champion.
Faculty of Science, Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
Sebastian
S
Wolf
Department of Internal Medicine VI: Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
Ellen
E
Brölz
Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
David
D
Scholz
Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany ; TECNALIA, Health-Technologies San Sebastian, Spain.
Ander
A
Ramos-Murguialday
Department of Neurology, Klinikum Bayreuth Bayreuth, Germany ; Department of Physiological Psychology, Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg, Germany.
Philipp M
PM
Keune
Faculty of Science, Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
Martin
M
Hautzinger
Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany ; Ospedale San Camillo, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Venice, Italy ; German Center for Diabetes Research Tuebingen, Germany.
Niels
N
Birbaumer
Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
Ute
U
Strehl
EEG; ERD/ERS; elite athletes; motor efficiency; motor skill; sensorimotor rhythm; table tennis