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Updated: Jul 2, 2026
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Using Electroencephalography Measurements and High-quality Video Recording for Analyzing Visual Perception of Media Content
Published on: May 26, 2018
Sports experience changes the neural processing of action language
Sian L Beilock1, Ian M Lyons, Andrew Mattarella-Micke
1Departments of Psychology and Neurology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. beilock@uchicago.edu
Summary
Specialized motor experience, like sports, enhances understanding of action-related language by engaging brain regions involved in action selection. This demonstrates the brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Sports Science
Background:
- Behavioral changes result from enduring neural process alterations.
- Motor and language experiences modify associated neural circuitry and brain regions, respectively.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how specialized motor experience influences action-related language understanding.
- To identify the neural mechanisms underlying expertise-based language comprehension.
Main Methods:
- fMRI studies comparing sports experts and novices.
- Analysis of neural activity during action-related language processing.
Main Results:
- Sports experience recruits left dorsal lateral premotor cortex for action-language understanding.
- Novices utilize lower-level sensory-motor regions without engaging primary motor areas for comprehension.
- Expertise-related neural recruitment extends beyond core language networks.
Conclusions:
- The language system exhibits plasticity, incorporating expertise-specific neural networks.
- Specialized motor experience reshapes neural pathways for enhanced action-related language comprehension.
- Motor expertise dynamically alters language processing by integrating action-related brain areas.
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