Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Neurocognition and Action - Biomechanics Research Group, Center for Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
PLoS One. 2023 Oct 5;18(10):e0292133. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292133. eCollection 2023.
Precise movement control is of prime importance in almost every kind of sport and greatly influences an athlete's performance. In dancing not only motor but also cognitive skills, e.g. in the form of memorized representational structures, are essential components of the performance. This study investigated different metrics related to the long-term memory of ballet dancers with different skill levels regarding the pas de bourrée using the structural-dimensional analysis of mental representations (SDA-M) method. To this end, the Correct Action Selection Probability Analysis (CASPA) algorithm, a recent SDA-M extension that predicts the individual probabilities of correct action selections within a movement sequence, has been applied in the context of dancing for the first time. Significant positive correlations were found between participants' degree of expertise and the proximity of their mental representation structure to the ideal reference structure, as well as between the degree of expertise and the probability of correct action selection within the movement sequence estimated by CASPA. The results indicate that increased training experience in ballet dancing is not only associated with functionally better structured mental representations of the movement sequence but also with a higher probability of correct action selection. These findings provide further evidence for SDA-M with CASPA as an auspicious tool for individualized task-related memory assessments and diagnostics in different action sequences, e.g. as the basis for mental training.
精确的动作控制在几乎每一种运动中都至关重要，极大地影响着运动员的表现。在舞蹈中，不仅运动技能，而且认知技能，例如以记忆的表象结构的形式，都是表演的重要组成部分。本研究使用心理表象结构的结构-维度分析（SDA-M）方法，调查了不同技能水平的芭蕾舞演员在“pas de bourrée”方面的长期记忆相关的不同指标。为此，首次将最近的 SDA-M 扩展——正确动作选择概率分析（CASPA）算法应用于舞蹈领域，该算法预测了动作序列中个体正确动作选择的概率。研究发现，参与者的专业程度与他们的心理表象结构与理想参考结构的接近程度之间存在显著的正相关，以及参与者的专业程度与 CASPA 估计的动作序列内正确动作选择的概率之间存在显著的正相关。研究结果表明，芭蕾舞训练经验的增加不仅与动作序列的心理表象结构功能更好有关，而且与正确动作选择的概率更高有关。这些发现为 SDA-M 与 CASPA 作为一种有前途的工具，用于不同动作序列中的个性化与任务相关的记忆评估和诊断提供了进一步的证据，例如作为心理训练的基础。
