Neural correlates of basketball proficiency: An MRI study across skill levels
Background: Basketball is an attractive sport required both cooperative and antagonistic motor skills. However, the neural mechanism of basketball proficiency remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the brain functional and structural substrates underlying varying levels of basketball capacity....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1728869X24000789 |
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| author | Manqi Zhang Wenbiao Zhang Yujie Yao Jiabao Lin Lei Mo |
| author_facet | Manqi Zhang Wenbiao Zhang Yujie Yao Jiabao Lin Lei Mo |
| author_sort | Manqi Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Basketball is an attractive sport required both cooperative and antagonistic motor skills. However, the neural mechanism of basketball proficiency remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the brain functional and structural substrates underlying varying levels of basketball capacity. Methods: Twenty advanced basketball athletes (AB), 20 intermediate basketball athletes (IB) and 20 age-matched non-athlete individuals without basketball experience (NI) participated in this study and underwent T1-weighted MRI and resting-state fMRI scanning. Voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC), amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF), and gray matter (GM) density were calculated and compared among the three groups. Results: The VMHC in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus, as well as the GM density in the right precentral gyrus, exhibited a hierarchical structure of AB > IB > NI. Compared with NI group, AB and IB groups showed strengthened VMHC in supplementary motor area, paracentral lobule and superior frontal gyrus. Additionally, the ALFF of left middle occipital gyrus and right hippocampal and the GM density of left medial superior frontal gyrus exhibited differences in AB-IB and AB-NI comparisons. Conclusions: By conducting the cross-sectional comparison, this study firstly identifies the varying levels of basketball proficiency related brain resting-state functional and structural plasticity. Especially, the regions associated with motor perception and control, including bilateral postcentral gyrus, middle and superior temporal gyrus and right precentral gyrus, are involved in the key neural mechanisms of basketball proficiency. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to further validate these findings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-196ff04ed153422aa30aee9e674c3156 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1728-869X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness |
| spelling | doaj-art-196ff04ed153422aa30aee9e674c31562025-02-06T05:11:23ZengElsevierJournal of Exercise Science & Fitness1728-869X2025-01-012311420Neural correlates of basketball proficiency: An MRI study across skill levelsManqi Zhang0Wenbiao Zhang1Yujie Yao2Jiabao Lin3Lei Mo4Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of ChinaCenter for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of ChinaCenter for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of ChinaSchool of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of ChinaCenter for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China; Corresponding author. No55 West Zhongshan Avenue, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510631, People's Republic of China.Background: Basketball is an attractive sport required both cooperative and antagonistic motor skills. However, the neural mechanism of basketball proficiency remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the brain functional and structural substrates underlying varying levels of basketball capacity. Methods: Twenty advanced basketball athletes (AB), 20 intermediate basketball athletes (IB) and 20 age-matched non-athlete individuals without basketball experience (NI) participated in this study and underwent T1-weighted MRI and resting-state fMRI scanning. Voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC), amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF), and gray matter (GM) density were calculated and compared among the three groups. Results: The VMHC in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus, as well as the GM density in the right precentral gyrus, exhibited a hierarchical structure of AB > IB > NI. Compared with NI group, AB and IB groups showed strengthened VMHC in supplementary motor area, paracentral lobule and superior frontal gyrus. Additionally, the ALFF of left middle occipital gyrus and right hippocampal and the GM density of left medial superior frontal gyrus exhibited differences in AB-IB and AB-NI comparisons. Conclusions: By conducting the cross-sectional comparison, this study firstly identifies the varying levels of basketball proficiency related brain resting-state functional and structural plasticity. Especially, the regions associated with motor perception and control, including bilateral postcentral gyrus, middle and superior temporal gyrus and right precentral gyrus, are involved in the key neural mechanisms of basketball proficiency. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to further validate these findings.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1728869X24000789Basketball capacityBasketball athletesBrain trainingMRIBrain plasticity |
| spellingShingle | Manqi Zhang Wenbiao Zhang Yujie Yao Jiabao Lin Lei Mo Neural correlates of basketball proficiency: An MRI study across skill levels Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness Basketball capacity Basketball athletes Brain training MRI Brain plasticity |
| title | Neural correlates of basketball proficiency: An MRI study across skill levels |
| title_full | Neural correlates of basketball proficiency: An MRI study across skill levels |
| title_fullStr | Neural correlates of basketball proficiency: An MRI study across skill levels |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neural correlates of basketball proficiency: An MRI study across skill levels |
| title_short | Neural correlates of basketball proficiency: An MRI study across skill levels |
| title_sort | neural correlates of basketball proficiency an mri study across skill levels |
| topic | Basketball capacity Basketball athletes Brain training MRI Brain plasticity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1728869X24000789 |
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