Validating the use of mobile EEG to investigate neural markers of real-world successful sporting performance in elite athletes

Abstract

This thesis examines the cognitive and neural processes supporting expert performance in the context of elite sport. We review the existing sports EEG literature, highlighting that it has poor ecological validity. Until recently the findings characterizing sporting performance and expertise have largely arisen from laboratory-based experiments. However, recent technical developments mean that EEG data can now be collected in more ecologically valid field-based settings, during the performance of real sporting behaviour - particularly in target sports where movement is limited. In addition, our literature review led us to identify that most studies investigating sporting expertise performance have employed study designs that compare experts to novices. Although these findings provide insight into the neural mechanisms differentiating experts and novices, they do not necessarily provide information about the neural mechanisms underlying successful and unsuccessful performance within experts. Consequently, the aim of this thesis was to build on the existing literature, investigating the feasibility of recording neural activity in expert athletes in ecologically valid settings, and examining any differences in neural activity relating to successful and unsuccessful sporting performance across a range of sports. Throughout the thesis we assessed neural activity using mobile EEG, employing both group average and N=1 approaches. Time frequency analysis was used to explore the data, providing new understanding of the neuronal changes that occur during performance in expert athletes. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of examining neural activity as a function of performance in ecologically valid settings. The data reveal observable neural signatures that differ as a function of performance levels, that differ between athletes, and that differ across sports. Across the studies presented in this thesis the findings highlight the importance of adopting an individualised approach, and the need to tailor the analysis of EEG data for each athlete. Taken together, the findings provide real-world evidence regarding the neural mechanisms dissociating successful and unsuccessful performance in expert athletes across sports, suggesting that mobile EEG offers exciting new opportunities for understanding and supporting elite sporting performance.