Embodied planning in climbing: how pre-planning informs motor execution.

Introduction: The aim of the study is to address embodied planning in climbing. Embodied planning was conceptualized as the interaction between perceptual-cognitive pre-planning and motor execution. Methods: In an experimental study, 18 climbers were asked to pre-plan a climbing route and to perform the route afterward. During pre-planning, the visual search pattern of climbers was captured using a portable eye tracker. After previewing, they were invited to climb the wall. Results: Results revealed that holds looked at during pre-planning were used twice as much during route execution than those not looked at. The duration of fixations was longer for holds used than those not used during route execution. The experience of climbers (training years) correlated with visual strategies and climbing performance, such that experienced participants climbed faster and fixated at the holds not used for a shorter time. Discussion: The visual behaviors of climbers were influenced by their past sensorimotor experiences during route previewing, impacting subsequent climbing performance.

Influence of the time-task constraint on ocular metrics of semi-elite soccer players.

This study novelty aimed to investigate the influence of manipulating the available time to perform the training tasks on soccer players´ ocular metrics, following training. Specifically, pupillary response (pupil diameter) and saccadic features (latency, accuracy, velocity, and number) were measured with a portable eye tracker following training to reflect the mental load accumulated by players during the training sessions. Nine semi-elite soccer players performed two training sessions, based on large-sided games, on an artificial grass field. These two sessions were composed of the same tasks but varying the required time to complete the task goals (Session 1: No time limitations to perform the tasks; Session 2: Limited time to perform the tasks). The participants performed, before (pre-test) and after (post-test) each training session, a prosaccade task in a room near the playing field. Findings revealed a differentiated effect of the available time to complete the training tasks on ocular metrics because significant differences were found in all variables after training (p < .001 for pupil diameter; p < .01 for saccade accuracy and number of saccades; p < .05 for saccade velocity and latency). Ocular metrics could be a promising tool to evaluate mental load following practice because they were sensitive to the time-task constraint, providing researchers a valuable information for a better planning of the mental workload when designed training tasks.

A scientometrics analysis of physical activity and transcranial stimulation research.

BACKGROUND: The search for alternatives to improve physical performance is rising, and in recent years has been focused on the brain. No bibliometric study analyzing research on physical activity (PA) and transcranial stimulation has been found in the scientific literature. Aims: To provide an overview of the existing scientific research on PA and transcranial brain stimulation in healthy and sports participants, using a bibliometric analysis and graphic mapping of the references in the field. To do this, we analyze annual publication trends in this area, identifying the most productive and cited authors, journals and countries with the highest number of publications, and the most cited documents and keywords. METHODS: Those publications related to this area, published in journals indexed in the web of science main collection were retrieved and analyzed using the traditional laws of bibliometrics. RESULTS: A total of 305 documents were found. Annual publications followed an exponential growth trend (R2 = 94.2%); with A. J. Pearce (9 documents) is the most productive coauthor and M.C. Ridding, H. Theoret and M. Lassonde as the most prominent (with 5 most cited papers). The USA (67 papers) and the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (12 papers) were the most productive country and journal respectively. The paper "Action anticipation and motor resonance in elite basketball players" was the most cited paper and "transcranial magnetic stimulation" was the most used keyword. CONCLUSION: There are extensive research networks throughout the world, with the USA leading the production. Publications on the issue are of high interest in the scientific community as an exponential increase in publications over the last few years was found. The contribution of these findings is to offer a complete picture of the relationship between PA and transcranial brain stimulation in healthy individuals and athletes. Therefore, this comprehensive analysis provides fruitful information for sports researchers and policymakers to make future correct decisions about how to better design and implement training interventions in these groups of individuals.

Visual Behaviours of Expert Padel Athletes When Playing on Court: An In Situ Approach with a Portable Eye Tracker.

Eye-tracking research has allowed the characterisation of gaze behaviours in some racket sports (e.g., tennis, badminton), both in controlled laboratory settings and in real-world scenarios. However, there are no studies about visual patterns displayed by athletes in padel. METHOD: The aim of this exploratory case study was to address the visual behaviours of eight young expert padel athletes when playing match games on a padel court. Specifically, their gaze behaviours were examined with an in situ approach while returned trays/smashes, serves, and volleys were performed by their counterparts. Gaze patterns were registered with an SMI Eye Tracking Glasses 2 Wireless. RESULTS: The participants' gaze was mainly focused on the ball-flight trajectory and on the upper body of the opponents because they were the two visual locations with a larger number of fixations and longer fixation time. No differences were found in these variables for each type of visual location when the three return situations were compared, or independently of them. CONCLUSIONS: Padel players displayed a similar gaze behaviour during different representative return situations. This visual pattern was characterised by fixating at the ball and some opponents' upper kinematics (head, shoulders, trunk, and the region of arm-hand-racket) to perform real interceptive actions while playing against them on a padel court.

Influence of On-Sight and Flash Climbing Styles on Advanced Climbers' Route Completion for Bouldering.

Route previewing has been established as a critical parameter in indoor climbing performance, as it could determine the success or failure in ascending the route. We addressed the effect of different types of previews on output climbing performance. Twenty-one advanced climbers (7b and 7c+ climbing grade) were required to complete 18 routes, rated at 6c, according to the French Rating Scale of Difficulty. Each climber previewed the route under three conditions: "No-previewing", "video-model previewing", and "real-model previewing". Output climbing performance was assessed in terms of route completion. The results showed differences on output climbing performance between types of preview. Specifically, the climbers achieved more successful attempts at climbing to the "Top" of the wall when inspecting the route with the "real-model previewing" condition, compared to the other conditions of preview. On the contrary, the climbers displayed more failed attempts in climbing the route with the "on-sight" condition, compared to the "flash" styles ("video-model" and "real-model"). The preview of the route, including performance of a real/video-projected model manipulating climbing holds, seems to increase the opportunities to climb the boulder successfully, attuning climbers to information specifying ascending actions. Climbing coaches should reinforce the design of representative training, using flash styles, to promote movement solutions for route completion.

Influence of Augmented Probabilistic Information on Defensive Motor Behaviors of 1 vs. 1 Basketball Play.

In this study we assessed the contribution of augmented probabilistic information on the motor behavior of novice defenders during 1 vs. 1 basketball play. More specifically, we aimed to investigate the influence of different probabilities of attacks to the basket (Level 1: High-probability of a single attack action; Level 2: Equal probability of two attack actions; Level 3: No-probability of an attack) on defensive reactions and their efficacy. Twenty-six novice participants volunteered and were assigned into three groups, based on their reaction time performance. Each participant performed 10 trials defending against typical basket attacks on a standard basketball court. Three experimental groups were primed regarding the probabilities of two forms of attack, either shooting at the basket or dribbling-past the defender (Group 1: 80% vs 20%; Group 2: 50% vs 50%; Group 3: No-probability of attack). Participants reacted earlier and with greater accuracy in the high-probability condition (80% vs 20%), than in the remaining conditions. We found that, in absence of kinematic information about their opponents, novice basketball players may have relied on the prior information we provided regarding an opponents' preferred actions during 1 vs. 1 basketball play. The provision of probabilistic information could be used as a training strategy to guide the defensive motor behaviors of novice basketball players when facing their counterparts in ball possession by favoring the use of anticipatory information to react earlier and successfully to the opponents' actions.

Influence of Video Speeds on Visual Behavior and Decision-Making of Amateur Assistant Referees Judging Offside Events.

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of manipulating video speeds on visual behavior and decision accuracy of 10 amateur football assistant referees (ARs) when perceived video sequences of 24 possible offside actions on a large screen. An eye tracker was used to analyze participants' visual behaviors. Signal detection analysis provided further detail of participants' decision-level accuracy. Participants were required to decide when they perceived a player to be offside during observed sequences with different video speed manipulations (Normal speed, 2 speed, and 3 speed). Results revealed that the manipulation of video speed did not attune emergent gaze patterns differently because participants displayed similar visual behaviors, regardless of speed. However, the normal speed resulted in a higher percentage of correct decisions than the 3 speed. Participants tended toward non-flagging decision bias errors when judging offsides with the 3 speed because they made more misses, than false alarms.

Training With Direct Versus Indirect Spatial Stimulus-Response Compatibility in Combat Sports.

The study examined effects of spatial stimulus-response compatibility on response time and response accuracy in 20 novice combat sport athletes. Two equivalent groups, based on initial reaction time measures, were required to perceive and move quickly and accurately in response to an unspecific visual stimulus presented on a large screen during the two types of perceptual training in eight laboratory sessions. One group reacted by moving the fist toward the stimulus location on the target (direct compatibility condition). Another group was required to move the fist away from target in the opposite direction (indirect compatibility condition). Specifically, the indirect compatibility group achieved faster reaction times than the direct compatibility group during the two posttests containing video-projected attacks of the opponents, and in one of the two posttests containing real opponents' attacks. Results seem to reveal higher combat performance against real opponents when athletes trained with an indirect stimulus-response compatibility condition.

Diferencias en el comportamiento visual y motor de tenistas en laboratorio y en pista de tenis / Visual and motor behavior of tennis players in laboratory versus on tennis-court

El estudio compara el comportamiento visual y motor de 40 tenistas noveles en laboratorio (2D) y en pista de tenis (3D) cuando visualizan una secuencia de passing-shots ejecutada por un oponente experto desde el fondo de la pista. Los tenistas deben responder rápida y precisamente mediante un armado de volea de derecha o de revés según la dirección del golpeo. Para el registro del comportamiento visual, se utiliza el sistema tecnológico ASL SE 5000, mientras que para el comportamiento motor, se adapta un sistema tecnológico para el entrenamiento de las habilidades motoras abiertas. Las variables dependientes son: el tiempo de fijación visual en cada localización corporal o espacial; el tiempo de reacción y de movimiento, tiempo de respuesta (o suma de las dos variables anteriores), y eficacia de la respuesta. Los resultados evidencian que la muestra de tenistas noveles se fija más en la zona central del cuerpo del oponente (tronco, cadera) y son más rápidos en 2D. En cambio, en 3D se fijan más en la zona superior del oponente (cabeza, hombros). Por lo tanto, los tenistas desarrollan un comportamiento visual y motor diferenciado según perciban el movimiento del oponente de forma videoproyectada o en pista de tenis. Se recomienda diseñar tareas representativas en laboratorio que ofrezcan a los deportistas procesos de percepción y de acción similares a situaciones reales de competición.

This study addresses the visual and motor behavior, and success rate, of 40 novice tennis players in a laboratory setting and an on-court situation when viewing a passing-shots rally performed by an expert tennis player located at the back line of the court. The tennis players had to move fast and quickly through forehand or backhand volleys. Visual search strategies were recorded with an ASL SE5000 eye tracking system, and a computerized system was used to analyze the time parameters of the motor response. The dependent variables are the time of visual fixation on the corporal or spatial locations, reaction and movement times, response time (or the sum of the two variables), and success rate of the responses. The results show that the sample of novice players were faster in 2D and fixed more time on the central area of the opponent body (e.g., trunk, hip). Thus, novice players fixed more on the upper body of the opponent (e.g., head, shoulders) in 3D. Therefore, tennis players develop a differentiated visual and motor behavior according to the way they perceive the opponent's movement, whether in a video projection or on the tennis court. It is recommended to carry out representative tasks in the laboratory to provide perceptive and motor processes similar to real situations.