Altered resting brain function and structure in professional badminton players

Abstract

Neuroimaging studies of professional athletic or musical training have demonstrated considerable practice-dependent plasticity in various brain structures, which may reflect distinct training demands. In the present study, structural and functional brain alterations were examined in professional badminton players and compared with healthy controls using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting-state functional MRI. Gray matter concentration (GMC) was assessed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and resting-brain functions were measured by amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and seed-based functional connectivity. Results showed that the athlete group had greater GMC and ALFF in the right and medial cerebellar regions, respectively. The athlete group also demonstrated smaller ALFF in the left superior parietal lobule and altered functional connectivity between the left superior parietal and frontal regions. These findings indicate that badminton expertise is associated with not only plastic structural changes in terms of enlarged gray matter density in the cerebellum, but also functional alterations in fronto-parietal connectivity. Such structural and functional alterations may reflect specific experiences of badminton training and practice, including high-capacity visuo-spatial processing and hand-eye coordination in addition to refined motor skills.

FIG. 1.

Larger gray matter concentration in the athlete group than the control group. Threshold was set as cluster level false discovery rate (FDR) corrected p<0.05. L: left; R: right.

FIG. 2.

Different amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation between the athlete group and the control group. Threshold was set as cluster level FDR corrected p<0.05. Red: athlete>control; Blue: control>athlete. L: left; R: right.

FIG. 3.

Positive (red) and negative (blue) correlation map of all the subjects with the four seeding regions. (A, C, E), and G display the four seed regions, and (B, D, F, H) represent corresponding correlation maps. Threshold was set as cluster level FDR corrected p<0.05. L: left; R: right.

FIG. 4.

Cluster showed reduced functional connectivity with the medial cerebellum seed region in the athlete group than in the control group. Threshold was set as cluster level FDR corrected p<0.05. L: left; R: right.

FIG. 5.

Cluster showed different functional connectivity with the left parietal seed region between groups. Threshold was set as cluster level FDR corrected p<0.05. Red: athlete>control; Blue: control>athlete. L: left; R: right.

FIG. 6.

Illustration of different functional connectivity between the athlete group and controls within the left fronto-parietal network. Arrow in cyan represents enhanced functional connectivity between the left superior parietal lobule (green) and the left middle frontal gyrus (BA6) (red) in the athlete group than in the control group. Arrow in purple represents lower functional connectivity between the left superior parietal lobule (green) and the left middle frontal gyrus (BA9) (blue) in the athlete group than in the control group.