Neural activation patterns in open-skilled and closed-skilled athletes during motor response tasks: insights from ERP analysis

The present study explored behavioral outcomes and neural correlates of cognitive control abilities in open-skill sports athletes compared with closed-skill sports athletes. The participants of the study were 16 right-handed male athletes. Nine basketball players formed a group of athletes from open-skill sports, and seven outdoor track and field runners formed a comparison group for closed-skill sports. During the two-color Choice Response Time task with simultaneous EEG registration, psychophysiological observation was performed to assess athletes’ functioning. A significant interaction between a sports type and the hand reveals more symmetrical functioning of the hands in basketball players, which is also confirmed by the neural activity of brain regions responsible for motor action (C3 and C4). Although there was no main effect of the sport type, the study revealed closer patterns of motor action and neural regulation of the left and right hand in open-skilled athletes than in closed-skilled athletes.