# Perceptual Judgments for Table Tennis Serve Recognition: An Event-Related Potentials Study
###### Abstract  
In the present study, visual attention processes in complex, sport-related decision-making tasks were examined. Psychophysiological and performance data recorded from 15 advanced table tennis athletes and 15 intermediate level undergraduates were compared. A total of 240 three-dimensional pictures of stimuli composed of a white ball and hitting location (black shade point) were presented via a screen, in which 25% represented side-backspin serves, and the other 75% represented non-side-topspin serves. Participants were instructed to report the types of serves. The results indicated that table tennis athletes responded more quickly and accurately. C1 and P1 components were induced in the occipital region, N1 in the central region, and P3 in all regions. For table tennis athletes, in the phase of early sensory processing for stimuli features (such as hitting location), the cerebral cortex was activated at a higher level in comparison with undergraduates. This may be caused by the long-term exercise training. Athletes have to be very sensitive to the physical features of relevant movement stimuli. In the phase of recognizing stimuli structures or patterns, advanced athletes' cerebral cortexes were activated higher and faster. This may help them more effectively match visual information about serves to patterns stored in long-term memory. table tennis athletes; recognizing the types of serves; event-related potentials +
Footnote †: journal: Medical  
Visual perception is the ability to interpret the environment by processing information contained in visible light [4], and ERP is often used to evaluate it [5]. The ERPs technique is commonly used to measure cortical activity with excellent temporal resolution, which is regarded as directly correlating to information processing. Previous studies have reported differences among expert athletes, less expert athletes and/or non-athletes. The brain characteristics of early sensory processing generally is reflected by C1 and P1 components. C1 is the very first visually evoked potential component, peaking between 40 and 80 ms post-stimulus with a midline occipito-parietal scalp distribution [6]. It is generally considered to reflect the initial activation of the primary visual cortex. Early studies failed to find the attentional modulation of C1, but recent work has suggested otherwise. Several recent C1 studies have shown that C1 might be modulated by an endogenous process, such as attention [7; 8]. [PERSON] et al. (2010) [9] 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. The results showed that C1 latency was comparable across the two groups, but its amplitude was significantly larger for the players than for the non-players. Additionally, several researchers had examined ERPs evoked by the imperative stimuli to assess visual attention. More specifically, the P1 component, a positive deflection, appeared approximately 80-150 ms after stimulus presentation. [PERSON] et al. (2010) [10] indicated that the mean amplitudes of P1 evoked at the anterior scalp of elite fencing athletes are higher. [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2010) [11] found that elite Sanda athletes exhibited a greater P1 amplitude in a shorter latency than novices when they recognized picture stimuli and decided \"attack\" or \"defensive\". The P1 reflects both the obligatory processing of exogenous stimulus characteristics and the earliest stages of attention [12]. The above results showed that the level of elite athletes' nerve activity of P1 were higher in comparison with general athletes or novices. In the phase of recognizing stimuli structure or pattern, N1 and P3 components reflected this processing. The N1 component, a negative deflection, appeared approximately 90-160 ms after the stimulus.