Shi Jilong, Huang Haojie, Nasrallah Fatima A, Li Anmin
School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
Department of Physical Education, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Brain Sci. 2024 Jul 27;14(8):756. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14080756.
Neural efficiency refers to the brain's ability to function with reduced resource expenditure while maintaining high performance levels. Previous research has demonstrated that table tennis athletes have greater neural efficiency at the conscious level. However, it is unknown whether they exhibit greater neural efficiency at the unconscious level. Therefore, this study aims to investigate unconscious perceptual processing and neural efficiency in elite table tennis athletes through tasks involving the judgment of spin serves.
Fifty healthy, right-handed individuals participated in this study, including 25 elite table tennis athletes and 25 control participants without professional training experience. To evaluate the unconscious perceptual characteristics of both groups, we used a combination of masked priming paradigm and event-related potential techniques.
The behavioral results reveal that, compared to the control group, the table tennis athletes displayed reduced reaction times ( < 0.001) and increased priming effects ( < 0.001) under unconscious conditions. The electrophysiological findings indicated that both groups elicited N1, N2, and P2 components. Notably, compared to the control group, the table tennis athletes exhibited significantly lower amplitude responses at the occipital lobe electrodes PO3, POz, PO4, O1, Oz, and O2 ( < 0.001).
These results further support the neural efficiency hypothesis, indicating that prolonged professional training enhances athletes' capacities for specialized unconscious cognitive processing.
神经效率是指大脑在保持高水平表现的同时，以减少资源消耗来发挥功能的能力。先前的研究表明，乒乓球运动员在意识层面具有更高的神经效率。然而，他们在无意识层面是否也表现出更高的神经效率尚不清楚。因此，本研究旨在通过涉及旋转发球判断的任务，调查优秀乒乓球运动员的无意识知觉加工和神经效率。
五十名健康的右利手个体参与了本研究，其中包括25名优秀乒乓球运动员和25名无专业训练经验的对照参与者。为了评估两组的无意识知觉特征，我们结合使用了掩蔽启动范式和事件相关电位技术。
行为结果显示，与对照组相比，乒乓球运动员在无意识条件下反应时间缩短（<0.001），启动效应增强（<0.001）。电生理结果表明，两组均诱发了N1、N2和P2成分。值得注意的是，与对照组相比，乒乓球运动员在枕叶电极PO3、POz、PO4、O1、Oz和O2处的波幅反应显著降低（<0.001）。
这些结果进一步支持了神经效率假说，表明长期的专业训练增强了运动员进行专门无意识认知加工的能力。
