Aiming routines and their electrocortical concomitants among competitive rifle shooters

The present study focused on an examination of competitive shooters' aiming process during a rifle shooting task. The barrel movements of the rifle, as detected by a laser system during the last 1000-ms time period preceding the triggering, were recorded from six elite and six pre-elite shooters. Electrocortical slow potentials (SPs) from frontal (Fz), centro-lateral (C3, C4), and occipital (Oz) brain areas were recorded to get an additional insight into the underlying covert processing. The results suggested that the elite shooters did not pull the trigger until they reached a sustained rifle position. In the pre-elite shooters the rifle appeared to be in a less stable position, and their strategy was to take advantage of the first appropriate moment of steadiness without a sustained rifle position so they could pull the trigger. The observed pre-trigger readiness potential (RP) shifts at Fz and Oz were more positive among the elite shooters relative to the pre-elite shooters, reflecting their more pronounced covert effort, rather than increasing preparedness for the trigger pull. The present study lends support for the view that a successful aiming strategy is mainly based on sustained rifle balancing. With regards to the brain slow potentials, it can be concluded that the RP shift does not specifically reflect the preparation for the trigger pull.