Event-Related Potential Study on the Effect of Ego Depletion on Perceptual Anticipation Under Negative Emotion

The present study employed a combination of behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) measures to investigate the effect of ego depletion on perceptual anticipation in tennis-trained undergraduates under negative emotion. The findings will provide a theoretical foundation for enhancing training efficacy in this specific population. Negative emotion was induced by film clips, while ego-depletion was elicited through a Stroop task. Perceptual anticipation was evaluated using temporally occluded tennis videos. Under negative emotion, participants exhibited shorter reaction time and higher accuracy either in the low ego-depletion state or at 160 ms after hitting the ball. Additionally, there was a shorter N2 peak latency at 160 ms after hitting the ball than at the moment of hitting the ball. The peak amplitudes of N2, P3, and LNC mean amplitude were significantly lower under the low ego-depletion state than those under the high ego-depletion state (p < 0.05). The peak amplitudes of N2 and P3 were higher at the moment of hitting the ball than at 160 ms after hitting the ball. Under negative emotion, tennis-trained undergraduates exhibited faster perceptual anticipation speed, higher accuracy, and a reduced allocation of cognitive resources in a low ego-depletion state. Compared to the moment of hitting the ball, tennis-trained undergraduates exhibited better speed-accuracy, earlier attention control, and reduced allocation of attentional and cognitive resources at 160 ms after hitting the ball. The findings suggest that tennis coaches should enhance players' emotional self-regulation skills, optimize training environments, and reduce ego depletion to improve their performance.