The Speed of Neural Visual Motion Perception and Processing Determines the Visuomotor Reaction Time of Young Elite Table Tennis Athletes

Hülsdünker, Thorben; Ostermann, Martin; Mierau, Andreas · 2019 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00165

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Summary

This study investigates whether the neural determinants of visuomotor reaction time (VMRT) identified in adult badminton athletes generalize to young elite table tennis players. While previous research established that the speed of visual signal perception and processing in the brain’s visual motion system strongly influences VMRT in badminton, it remained unclear if this relationship holds for other visuomotor-demanding sports or different age groups. The authors aimed to validate these findings in youth athletes to determine if specific neural processes are universal performance determinants across disciplines and to identify potential targets for training interventions. The researchers recruited 37 young elite international table tennis players (mean age 13.5 years) from 23 nations. Participants performed a visuomotor reaction task involving button presses in response to radial visual motion stimuli presented at two velocities: slow (5 Hz) and fast (20 Hz). The study utilized a multimodal approach, measuring behavioral performance via electromyographic (EMG) onset and VMRT, while simultaneously recording neural activity using a 64-channel electroencephalography (EEG) system. The EEG data focused on event-related potentials (ERPs) in the visual motion-sensitive area MT and the pre- and supplementary motor cortex (Brodmann area 6, BA6). Statistical analyses, including correlation and multiple regression, were employed to identify which neural processes determined visuomotor performance. The results demonstrated that VMRT and EMG onset were significantly accelerated in the fast motion condition compared to the slow condition. This behavioral improvement was accompanied by an earlier stimulus-locked N2 potential in area MT, indicating faster visual processing, and a later response-locked N2-r potential, suggesting more efficient integration of visual information prior to motor execution. Crucially, the latencies of the N2 and N2-r potentials were strongly correlated with EMG onset and VMRT, explaining between 80% and 90% of the variance in reaction speed. In contrast, neural processes in BA6 did not differ between velocity conditions and did not contribute to the regression model, indicating that motor cortex activation was not a primary determinant of reaction speed in this context. The study concludes that the speed of neural visual motion perception and processing is a key determinant of visuomotor reaction time in young elite table tennis athletes, validating previous findings from badminton research. This confirms that the importance of visual neural processes for reaction speed is generalizable across different visuomotor-demanding sports and age groups. The findings suggest that the visual system, rather than the motor cortex, is the critical bottleneck for rapid reactions in these sports. Consequently, the visual system represents a promising target for specific diagnostic tools and training interventions aimed at enhancing performance in elite athletes.

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• perception action locomotion