Brain Activity during Different Throwing Games: EEG Exploratory Study

Alfonso García-Monge, Henar Rodríguez-Navarro, Gustavo González-Calvo and Daniel Bores-García
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Alfonso García-Monge: Department of Didactics of Musical, Artistic and Body Expression, Faculty of Education of Valladolid, University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
Henar Rodríguez-Navarro: Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Education of Valladolid, University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
Gustavo González-Calvo: Department of Didactics of Musical, Artistic and Body Expression, Faculty of Education of Palencia, University of Valladolid, 34004 Palencia, Spain
Daniel Bores-García: Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-18

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the differences in brain activity in various types of throwing games by making encephalographic records. Three conditions of throwing games were compared looking for significant differences (simple throwing, throwing to a goal, and simultaneous throwing with another player). After signal processing, power spectral densities were compared through variance analysis ( p ≤ 0.001). Significant differences were found especially in high-beta oscillations (22–30 Hz). “Goal” and “Simultaneous” throwing conditions show significantly higher values than those shown for throws without opponent. This can be explained by the higher demand for motor control and the higher arousal in competition situations. On the other hand, the high-beta records of the “Goal” condition are significantly higher than those of the “Simultaneous” throwing, which could be understood from the association of the beta waves with decision-making processes. These results support the difference in brain activity during similar games. This has several implications: opening up a path to study the effects of each specific game on brain activity and calling into question the transfer of research findings on animal play to all types of human play.

Keywords: EEG; play; physical games; throwing games; beta oscillations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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