Athletic training in badminton players modulates the early C1 component of visual evoked potentials: A preliminary investigation

One basic question in brain plasticity research is whether individual life experience in the normal population can affect very early sensory–perceptual processing. Athletes provide a possible model to explore plasticity of the visual cortex as athletic training in confrontational ball games is quite often accompanied by training of the visual system. We asked professional badminton players to watch video clips related to their training experience and predict where the ball would land and examined whether they differed from non-player controls in the elicited C1, a visual evoked potential indexing V1 activity. Compared with controls, the players made judgments significantly more accurately, albeit not faster. An early ERP component peaking around 65 ms post-stimulus with a scalp topography centering at the occipital pole (electrode Oz) was observed in both groups and interpreted as the C1 component. With comparable latency, amplitudes of this component were significantly enhanced for the players than for the non-players, suggesting that it can be modulated by long-term physical training. The results present a clear case of experience-induced brain plasticity in primary visual cortex for very early sensory processing.

Research Highlights
► Athletic training heavily engaging visual processing offers a plasticity model.
► Participants were asked to watch clips from badminton games and predict ball trajectory.
► C1 is the earliest visual evoked potential reflecting primary cortex activation.
► C1 amplitude was found to be enhanced for badminton players than controls.
► Long-term training changes very early sensory processing in the normal population.