Increased Cortical Activity in Novices Compared to Experts During Table Tennis: A Whole-Brain fNIRS Study Using Threshold-Free Cluster Enhancement Analysis.

ABSTRACT: There is a growing interest to understand the neural underpinnings of high-level sports performance including expertise-related differences in sport-specific skills. Here, we aimed to investigate whether expertise level and task complexity modulate the cortical hemodynamics of table tennis players. 35 right-handed table tennis players (17 experts/18 novices) were recruited and performed two table tennis strokes (forehand and backhand) and a randomized combination of them. Cortical hemodynamics, as a proxy for cortical activity, were recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and the behavioral performance (i.e., target accuracy) was assessed via video recordings. Expertise- and task-related differences in cortical hemodynamics were analyzed using nonparametric threshold-free clu

SUBMITTER: Carius D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10293405 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature