Li Ju, Huang Minghao, Cao Yaping, Qin Zhe, Lang Jian
College of P.E. and Sports, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
College of P.E. and Sports, Northwest Normal University, Gansu 730070, China.
Neuroscience. 2023 Oct 15;530:133-143. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.08.020. Epub 2023 Aug 26.
Long-term motor skill learning has been shown to impact the functional plasticity of the brain. Athletes, as a unique population, exhibit remarkable adaptive changes in the static properties of their brain networks. However, studying the differences between expert and novice athletes using a dynamic brain network framework can provide a fresh perspective on how motor skill learning affects the functional organization of the brain. In this study, we investigated the dynamic properties of brain networks in expert and novice soccer players at the whole-brain, network, and region-based levels. Our findings revealed that expert soccer players displayed reduced integration and increased segregation at the whole-brain level. As for network level, experts exhibited increased segregation and reduced flexibility in the visual network, enhanced integration between the visual and ventral attention networks, and decreased integration in the subcortical-sensorimotor and subcortical-cerebellar networks. Additionally, specific brain regions within the visual network exhibited greater recruitment in expert soccer players compared to novices at the nodal level. Furthermore, classification analyses demonstrated the critical role played by the visual network in the classification process. In conclusion, our study provides new insights into the dynamic properties of brain networks in expert and novice soccer players, and suggests that reduced integration and increased segregation in the visual network may be neuroimaging marker that distinguish expert soccer players from novices. Our findings may have implications for the training and development of athletes and advance our understanding of how motor skill learning affects brain functional organization.
长期运动技能学习已被证明会影响大脑的功能可塑性。运动员作为一个独特的群体，其大脑网络的静态属性表现出显著的适应性变化。然而，使用动态大脑网络框架研究专家级和新手级运动员之间的差异，可以为运动技能学习如何影响大脑功能组织提供一个全新的视角。在本研究中，我们在全脑、网络和基于区域的层面上，调查了专家级和新手级足球运动员大脑网络的动态属性。我们的研究结果显示，专家级足球运动员在全脑层面表现出整合性降低和分离性增加。在网络层面，专家在视觉网络中表现出分离性增加和灵活性降低，视觉与腹侧注意网络之间的整合增强，以及皮质下感觉运动和皮质下小脑网络中的整合减少。此外，在节点层面，与新手相比，专家级足球运动员视觉网络内的特定脑区表现出更强的激活。此外，分类分析表明视觉网络在分类过程中发挥了关键作用。总之，我们的研究为专家级和新手级足球运动员大脑网络的动态属性提供了新的见解，并表明视觉网络中整合性降低和分离性增加可能是区分专家级足球运动员和新手的神经影像学标志。我们的研究结果可能对运动员的训练和发展具有启示意义，并增进我们对运动技能学习如何影响大脑功能组织的理解。
