Auditory Information Accelerates the Visuomotor Reaction Speed of Elite Badminton Players in Multisensory Environments

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

David Riedel¹  Diemo Ruhnow³  Hannes Käsbauer⁴  Thorben Hülsdünker⁵  Andreas Mierau⁵ 

[1] Sport Sciences Research Institute A.s.b.l., Differdange, Luxembourg;Department of Exercise and Sport Science, LUNEX International University of Health, Exercise and Sports, Differdange, Luxembourg;German Badminton Association, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany;Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany;;Luxembourg Health &

关键词: EEG;    athlete;    sport performance;    brain;    training;    vision;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnhum.2021.779343

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Although vision is the dominating sensory system in sports, many situations require multisensory integration. Faster processing of auditory information in the brain may facilitate time-critical abilities such as reaction speed however previous research was limited by generic auditory and visual stimuli that did not consider audio-visual characteristics in ecologically valid environments. This study investigated the reaction speed in response to sport-specific monosensory (visual and auditory) and multisensory (audio-visual) stimulation. Neurophysiological analyses identified the neural processes contributing to differences in reaction speed. Nineteen elite badminton players participated in this study. In a first recording phase, the sound profile and shuttle speed of smash and drop strokes were identified on a badminton court using high-speed video cameras and binaural recordings. The speed and sound characteristics were transferred into auditory and visual stimuli and presented in a lab-based experiment, where participants reacted in response to sport-specific monosensory or multisensory stimulation. Auditory signal presentation was delayed by 26 ms to account for realistic audio-visual signal interaction on the court. N1 and N2 event-related potentials as indicators of auditory and visual information perception/processing, respectively were identified using a 64-channel EEG. Despite the 26 ms delay, auditory reactions were significantly faster than visual reactions (236.6 ms vs. 287.7 ms, p < 0.001) but still slower when compared to multisensory stimulation (224.4 ms, p = 0.002). Across conditions response times to smashes were faster when compared to drops (233.2 ms, 265.9 ms, p < 0.001). Faster reactions were paralleled by a lower latency and higher amplitude of the auditory N1 and visual N2 potentials. The results emphasize the potential of auditory information to accelerate the reaction time in sport-specific multisensory situations. This highlights auditory processes as a promising target for training interventions in racquet sports.

【 授权许可】

Unknown