Golf putt outcomes are predicted by sensorimotor cerebral EEG rhythms

Abstract

It is not known whether frontal cerebral rhythms of the two hemispheres are implicated in fine motor control and balance. To address this issue, electroencephalographic (EEG) and stabilometric recordings were simultaneously performed in 12 right-handed expert golfers. The subjects were asked to stand upright on a stabilometric force platform placed at a golf green simulator while playing about 100 golf putts. Balance during the putts was indexed by body sway area. Cortical activity was indexed by the power reduction in spatially enhanced alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) rhythms during movement, referred to as the pre-movement period. It was found that the body sway area displayed similar values in the successful and unsuccessful putts. In contrast, the high-frequency alpha power (about 10-12 Hz) was smaller in amplitude in the successful than in the unsuccessful putts over the frontal midline and the arm and hand region of the right primary sensorimotor area; the stronger the reduction of the alpha power, the smaller the error of the unsuccessful putts (i.e. distance from the hole). These results indicate that high-frequency alpha rhythms over associative, premotor and non-dominant primary sensorimotor areas subserve motor control and are predictive of the golfer's performance.

Figure 1. Mean event-related desynchronization (ERD) in the range 6–30 Hz for the Successes and Failures conditions at the electrodes overlying the arm and hand region of the left (C3 electrode) and of the right (C4 electrode) primary sensorimotor cortex

Figure 2. Topographical distribution of low- and high-frequency alpha and beta ERD/ERS percentages for the Successes and Failures conditions

The corresponding difference maps (Successes versus Failures) are also reported. Colour scale: maximum ERD and ERS are coded in white and violet, respectively. The maximal (%) value of the ERD/ERS percentages is reported under the maps. The maximum ERD difference in the Successes compared to the Failures condition is coded in white. In contrast, the maximum ERD difference in the Failures compared to the Successes condition is coded in violet.

Figure 3. Mean (± s.e.m.) values of high-frequency alpha ERD at the Fz, FCz, C3, Cz, C4 electrodes for the Successes and Failures conditions

Asterisks indicate the probability levels of the post hoc Duncan testing (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.005).

Figure 4. The grand average waveforms of the high-frequency alpha ERD for the Successes and Failures conditions at Fz, FCz, Cz, C3, and C4 electrode sites

Figure 5. Scatterplots showing the linear correlation (Pearson test, P < 0.05) between the high-frequency alpha ERD at Fz, Cz and C4 electrodes and the error from the hole (cm) during the unsuccessful putts

The stronger was the high-frequency alpha ERD, the lower was the error from the hole. The Pearson correlation coefficient is given by: Xi = error (cm) from the hole for the ith subject Yi = Amplitude of high-frequency alpha ERD for the ith subject