Enhanced inhibitory control during re-engagement processing in badminton athletes:An event-related potential study

Purpose:The purpose of present study was to investigate the impact of sport experience on response inhibition and response re-engagement in expert badminton athletes during the stop-signal task and change-signal task.Methods:A total of 19 badminton athletes and 20 nonathletes performed both the stop-signal task and change-signal task.Reaction times(RTs)and event-related potentials were recorded and analyzed.Results:Behavioral results indicated that badminton athletes responded faster than nonathletes to go stimuli and to change signals,with faster change RTs and change-signal RTs,which take into consideration the variable stimulus onset time mean.During successful change trials in the change-signal task,the amplitudes of the event-related potential components N2 and P3 were smaller for badminton athletes than for nonathletes.Moreover,change-signal RTs and N2 amplitudes as well as change RTs and P3 amplitudes were significantly correlated in badminton athletes.A significant correlation was also found between the amplitude of the event-related potential component N1 and response accuracy to change signals in badminton athletes.Conclusion:Moderation of brain cortical activity in badminton athletes was more associated with their ability to rapidly inhibit a planned movement and re-engage with a new movement compared with nonathletes.The superior inhibitory control and more efficient neural mechanisms in badminton athletes compared with nonathletes might be a result of badminton athletes’ professional training experience.