An fMRI study of differences in brain activity among elite, expert, and novice archers at the moment of optimal aiming.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated brain activity in elite, expert, and novice archers during a simulated archery aiming task to determine whether neural correlates of performance differ by skill level.

BACKGROUND: Success in shooting sports depends on complex mental routines just before the shot, when the brain prepares to execute the movement.

METHODS: During functional magnetic resonance imaging, 40 elite, expert, or novice archers aimed at a simulated 70-meter-distant target and pushed a button when they mentally released the bowstring.

RESULTS: At the moment of optimal aiming, the elite and expert archers relied primarily on a dorsal pathway, with greatest activity in the occipital lobe, temporoparietal lobe, and dorsolateral pre-motor cortex. The elites showed activity in the supplementary motor area, temporoparietal area, and cerebellar dentate, while the experts showed activity only in the superior frontal area. The novices showed concurrent activity in not only the dorsolateral pre-motor cortex but also the ventral pathways linked to the ventrolateral pre-motor cortex. The novices exhibited broad activity in the superior frontal area, inferior frontal area, ventral prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, superior parietal lobule, and primary somatosensory cortex.

CONCLUSIONS: The more localized neural activity of elite and expert archers than novices permits greater efficiency in the complex processes subserved by these regions. The elite group's high activity in the cerebellar dentate indicates that the cerebellum is involved in automating simultaneous movements by integrating the sensorimotor memory enabled by greater expertise in self-paced aiming tasks. A companion article comments on and generalizes our findings.