Neurophysiology of action anticipation in athletes: A systematic review

The purpose of this study was to provide a systematic review of action anticipation studies using functional neuroimaging or brain stimulation during a sport-specific anticipation task. A total of 15 studies from 2008 to 2014 were evaluated and are reported in four sections: expert-novice samples, action anticipation tasks, neuroimaging and stimulation techniques, and key findings. Investigators examined a wide range of action anticipation scenarios specific to eight different sports and utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalogram (EEG), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Expert-novice comparisons were commonly used to investigate differences in action anticipation performance and neurophysiology. Experts tended to outperform novices, and an extensive array of brain structures were reported to be involved differently for experts and novices during action anticipation. However, these neurophysiological findings were generally inconsistent across the studies reviewed. The discussion focuses on strengths and four key limitations. The conclusion posits remaining questions and recommendations for future research.