TY - JOUR
T1 - Resting state cortical rhythms in athletes
T2 - A high-resolution EEG study
AU - Babiloni, Claudio
AU - Marzano, Nicola
AU - Iacoboni, Marco
AU - Infarinato, Francesco
AU - Aschieri, Pierluigi
AU - Buffo, Paola
AU - Cibelli, Giuseppe
AU - Soricelli, Andrea
AU - Eusebi, Fabrizio
AU - Del Percio, Claudio
PY - 2010/1/15
Y1 - 2010/1/15
N2 - The present electroencephalographic (EEG) study tested the working hypothesis that the amplitude of resting state cortical EEG rhythms (especially alpha, 8-12 Hz) was higher in elite athletes compared with amateur athletes and non-athletes, as a reflection of the efficiency of underlying back-ground neural synchronization mechanisms. Eyes closed resting state EEG data were recorded in 16 elite karate athletes, 20 amateur karate athletes, and 25 non-athletes. The EEG rhythms of interest were delta (2-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha 1 (8-10.5 Hz), alpha 2 (10.5-13 Hz), beta 1 (13-20 Hz), and beta 2 (20-30 Hz). EEG cortical sources were estimated by low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA). Statistical results showed that the amplitude of parietal and occipital alpha 1 sources was significantly higher in the elite karate athletes than in the non-athletes and karate amateur athletes. Similar results were observed in parietal and occipital delta sources as well as in occipital theta sources. Finally, a control confirmatory experiment showed that the amplitude of parietal and occipital delta and alpha 1 sources was stronger in 8 elite rhythmic gymnasts compared with 14 non-athletes. These results supported the hypothesis that cortical neural synchronization at the basis of eyes-closed resting state EEG rhythms is enhanced in elite athletes than in control subjects.
AB - The present electroencephalographic (EEG) study tested the working hypothesis that the amplitude of resting state cortical EEG rhythms (especially alpha, 8-12 Hz) was higher in elite athletes compared with amateur athletes and non-athletes, as a reflection of the efficiency of underlying back-ground neural synchronization mechanisms. Eyes closed resting state EEG data were recorded in 16 elite karate athletes, 20 amateur karate athletes, and 25 non-athletes. The EEG rhythms of interest were delta (2-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha 1 (8-10.5 Hz), alpha 2 (10.5-13 Hz), beta 1 (13-20 Hz), and beta 2 (20-30 Hz). EEG cortical sources were estimated by low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA). Statistical results showed that the amplitude of parietal and occipital alpha 1 sources was significantly higher in the elite karate athletes than in the non-athletes and karate amateur athletes. Similar results were observed in parietal and occipital delta sources as well as in occipital theta sources. Finally, a control confirmatory experiment showed that the amplitude of parietal and occipital delta and alpha 1 sources was stronger in 8 elite rhythmic gymnasts compared with 14 non-athletes. These results supported the hypothesis that cortical neural synchronization at the basis of eyes-closed resting state EEG rhythms is enhanced in elite athletes than in control subjects.
KW - Alpha rhythms
KW - Electroencephalography (EEG)
KW - Elite karate athletes
KW - Low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=71549140626&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=71549140626&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2009.10.014
DO - 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2009.10.014
M3 - Article
C2 - 19879337
AN - SCOPUS:71549140626
VL - 81
SP - 149
EP - 156
JO - Brain Research Bulletin
JF - Brain Research Bulletin
SN - 0361-9230
IS - 1
ER -