Functional Brain Imaging in Sport Science using Electroencephalography: From Regional Activity To Brain Networks

For the past decade, the brain has been one of the most intensively studied human organ with a further notable growth of wider brain research expected to occur in the near future. Consequently, in a large number of scientific disciplines including sports science, functional brain imaging has expanded drastically. This development is linked to a growing popularity in the use of electroencephalography (EEG). EEG measures electrical brain activity as recorded from multiple electrodes placed on the scalp. A number of different signal processing approaches can be used to analyze the spatial and temporal characteristics of brain processes underlying behavior. EEG provides excellent temporal resolution, it can be used in ecologically valid settings, and it is relatively low in cost when compared to other brain imaging options, for example functional magnetic resonance imaging. Its primary limitations are a relatively poor spatial resolution and no, or unreliable, information about subcortical information processing.
With a focus on the neurobiology, this keynote lecture will present examples of recent EEG-based brain imaging applications in sport science. Results from our laboratory as well as from colleagues will be presented and the diversity of important functional information extractable from the EEG signal will be discussed. Furthermore, technological requirements and computational challenges of EEG data analysis will be addressed.