Research article summary (published 30 Mar 2008):

Visuomotor expertise and dimensional complexity of cerebral cortical activity.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE: This study employed the correlation dimension (D2) to examine whether visuomotor expertise was inversely related to the complexity of cerebral cortical activity. METHOD: Expert rifle shooters (N = 15) and novices (N = 21) completed 40 shots in the standing position during which the electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded at 10 sites (F3, F4, C3, C4, T3, T4, P3, P4, O1, and O2) during a 5-s aiming period prior to trigger pull. D2 was derived for each trial and averaged across shots. A 2 x 2 x 5 (group x cerebral hemisphere x region) ANOVA was employed to contrast D2, while correlation analyses were used to determine the relationship between D2 and target shooting accuracy as well as variability of shot placement. RESULTS: As predicted, experts exhibited lower D2 (5.02 +/- 0.16 vs 5.49 +/- 0.13, respectively) and greater accuracy of shot placement ((339.8 +/- 44.7 vs 90.7 +/- 38.9 points out of 400 possible, respectively). Experts also exhibited an inverse relationship between D2 and shooting accuracy, while, in contrast, novices revealed a positive relationship. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that refinement and efficiency of cerebral cortical activity facilitates visuomotor performance. Lower complexity may be associated with less neuromotor "noise" in the brain, thus reducing interference with intended action.

Author information

Author/s: Hung, Tsung-Min (TM); Haufler, Amy J (AJ); Lo, Li-Chuan (LC); Mayer-Kress, Gottfried (G); Hatfield, Bradley D (BD);

Affiliation: Graduate Institute of Exercise and Sport Science, Taipei Physical Education College, Taipei, Taiwan.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Medicine and science in sports and exercise (Med Sci Sports Exerc), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Apr; vol 40 (issue 4) : pp 752-9

Dates: Created 2008/03/18; Completed 2008/06/20; Revised 2008/11/21;

PMID: 18317368, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent Adult Cerebral Cortex - physiology Cognition - physiology Electroencephalography Female Firearms Humans Male

Male Middle Aged Motor Neurons - physiology Motor Skills - physiology Nonlinear Dynamics Pilot Projects Task Performance and Analysis Vision, Ocular - physiology Visual Perception - physiology

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