Information processing ability in karatedo players during choice reaction tasks using image stimulation with a spatial occlusion paradigm

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand the information processing ability of karatedo players from behavioral and physiological indices using a choice reaction test. Participants were seven men who belonged to a university karatedo club. The experiment was as follows. The participants carried out a choice reaction test for image stimulation by pressing a button with either hand. They were instructed to press a button with their right hand when an upper punch image was shown and with their left hand when a middle punch was shown. In addition, the image was partially occluded by a spatial occlusion paradigm. The three conditions for image occlusion were “no-occlusion condition”, “upper body occlusion condition”, and “lower body occlusion condition”. and were conducted in a random order. The reaction time from the presentation of the stimulus to the button press and the gazing area were measured as behavioral indices, and the latency and amplitude of P300 to the stimuli were measured as physiological indices. As a result, it was shown that the gazing area during task performance was mainly at the upper body. The reaction time also showed that the upper body occlusion condition was significantly delayed compared to the lower body occlusion condition, which implies that the information obtained from the upper limbs and the trunk is an important clue when judging the punching technique. Furthermore, since the P300 amplitude in the middle punch was significantly increased compared to the upper punch, it is speculated that the middle punch was judged with a higher degree of confidence. From the above, it is suggested that karatedo players perform reaction tasks with efficiently collected information inherent in the movements, especially for the middle punch, based on their past experience and knowledge.