Exercise Science & Neuroscience Unit, Department of Exercise & Health, Paderborn University, Paderborn, Germany.
Institute of Sports Medicine, Department of Exercise & Health, Paderborn University, Paderborn, Germany.
Eur J Neurosci. 2022 Jan;55(2):487-509. doi: 10.1111/ejn.15595. Epub 2022 Jan 12.
The contribution of cortical processes to adaptive motor behaviour is of great interest in the field of exercise neuroscience. Next to established criteria of objectivity, reliability and validity, ecological validity refers to the concerns of whether measurements and behaviour in research settings are representative of the real world. Because exercise neuroscience investigations using mobile electroencephalography are oftentimes conducted in laboratory settings under controlled environments, methodological approaches may interfere with the idea of ecological validity. This review utilizes an original ecological validity tool to assess the degree of ecological validity in current exercise neuroscience research. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify articles investigating cortical dynamics during goal-directed sports movement. To assess ecological validity, five elements (environment, stimulus, response, body and mind) were assessed on a continuum of artificiality-naturality and simplicity-complexity. Forty-seven studies were included in the present review. Results indicate lowest average ratings for the element of environment. The elements stimulus, body and mind had mediocre ratings, and the element of response had the highest overall ratings. In terms of the type of sport, studies that assessed closed-skill indoor sports had the highest ratings, whereas closed-skill outdoor sports had the lowest overall rating. Our findings identify specific elements that are lacking in ecological validity and areas of improvement in current exercise neuroscience literature. Future studies may potentially increase ecological validity by moving from reductionist, artificial environments towards complex, natural environments and incorporating real-world sport elements such as adaptive responses and competition.
皮质过程对适应性运动行为的贡献是运动神经科学领域的研究热点。除了客观性、可靠性和有效性等既定标准外，生态有效性还涉及研究环境中的测量和行为是否代表真实世界的问题。由于使用移动脑电图的运动神经科学研究通常在实验室环境中进行，且环境受到控制，因此方法学方法可能会影响生态有效性的理念。本综述利用一种原始的生态有效性工具来评估当前运动神经科学研究的生态有效性程度。进行了系统的文献检索，以确定研究目标导向运动期间皮质动态的文章。为了评估生态有效性，将五个要素（环境、刺激、反应、身体和思维）在人为自然和简单复杂的连续体上进行评估。本综述纳入了 47 项研究。结果表明，环境要素的平均评分最低。刺激、身体和思维要素的评分中等，而反应要素的总体评分最高。就运动类型而言，评估封闭式室内运动的研究评分最高，而评估封闭式户外运动的研究总体评分最低。我们的研究结果确定了当前运动神经科学文献中缺乏生态有效性的具体要素和需要改进的领域。未来的研究可能通过从简化、人为环境转向复杂、自然环境，并纳入适应反应和竞争等现实世界运动要素，从而提高生态有效性。
