Cognitive skills of mental rotation in open-skill athletes : a preliminary assessment using event-related brain potentials

Abstract

  The performances of skilled athletes are supported by not only motor skills but also cognitive skills. Especially in open-skill sports, athletes must perceive rapid environmental changes faster and more accurately. Therefore, such cognitive skills are considered components of the competitive level, and cognitive skills should be assessed to provide effective instruction when coaching athletes. Several psychological operations are thought to play a role in athletes’ cognitive process, of which one is mental rotation. We aimed to determine the underlying cognitive process of the skill in open-skill athletes by using rotation-related negativity (RRN), which is an event-related brain potential (ERP) elicited by mental image rotation. Skilled ice hockey players (athlete group) and non-athlete controls performed the mental rotation task by using letters from the alphabet with simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) recording. We calculated the percentage and mean reaction time of the correct responses, and the mean amplitude of the time window when RRN was considered to have appeared, separately for smaller- and larger-angle conditions of the stimulus rotation. The athlete group responded less accurately but faster than the control group, indicating that open-skill athletes prioritized speed over accuracy. No significant group difference in RRN amplitude was found between the athletes and controls, although RRN was observed in most participants when the rotation angle of the stimulus was larger. Significant positive correlations were found between the RRN amplitude at each electrode and the change in the percentage of correct responses, which were calculated by subtracting the value in the smaller-angle condition from that in the larger-angle condition. In addition, the player position seemed to have affected the distribution of the athlete group in the scatter plots, suggesting that the goal keepers tried to maintain their accuracy, whereas the other field players prioritized making faster responses. These findings suggest that the cognitive skill of open-skill athletes can be assessed by using the task performance and psychophysiological response to mental rotation.