title: Motor skill failure or flow-experience? Functional brain asymmetry and brain connectivity in elite and amateur table tennis players.
abstract: Functional hemispheric asymmetry is assumed to constitute one underlying neurophysiological mechanism of flow-experience and skilled psycho-motor performance in table tennis athletes. We hypothesized that when initiating motor execution during motor imagery, elite table tennis players show higher right- than left-hemispheric temporal activity and stronger right temporal-premotor than left temporal-premotor theta coherence compared to amateurs. We additionally investigated, whether less pronounced left temporal cortical activity is associated with more world rank points and more flow-experience. To this aim, electroencephalographic data were recorded in 14 experts and 15 amateur table tennis players. Subjects watched videos of an opponent serving a ball and were instructed to imagine themselves responding with a specific table tennis stroke. Alpha asymmetry scores were calculated by subtracting left from right hemispheric 8-13 Hz alpha power. 4-7 Hz theta coherence was calculated between temporal (T3/T4) and premotor (Fz) cortex. Experts showed a significantly stronger shift towards lower relative left-temporal brain activity compared to amateurs and a significantly stronger right temporal-premotor coherence than amateurs. The shift towards lower relative left-temporal brain activity in experts was associated with more flow-experience and lower relative left temporal activity was correlated with more world rank points. The present findings suggest that skilled psycho-motor performance in elite table tennis players reflect less desynchronized brain activity at the left hemisphere and more coherent brain activity between fronto-temporal and premotor oscillations at the right hemisphere. This pattern probably reflect less interference of irrelevant communication of verbal-analytical with motor-control mechanisms which implies flow-experience and predict world rank in experts.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen, Schleichstr. 4, Tuebingen, 72076, Germany. Electronic address: sebastian.wolf@uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine VI: Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brölz
authors.affiliation: Klinikum Bayreuth, Department of Neurology, Bayreuth, Germany; Otto-Friedrich-University, Department of Physiological Psychology, Bamberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Philipp M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Keune
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wesa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen, Schleichstr. 4, Tuebingen, 72076, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hautzinger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University Tuebingen, Germany; Ospedale San Camillo, IRCCS, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Venice, Italy; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.), University Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Birbaumer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Strehl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D015865:Racquet Sports / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: EEG; Elite athletes; Flow-experience; Functional brain asymmetry; Psycho-motor performance; Table tennis; Theta coherence