COGNITION IN ELITE FOOTBALLERS PART 9

                                                             

In part 9 (and the 2nd last post in this marathon series!) we take a look at the finer details of stage 3, specifically the assessment outcome, feedback-based learning and behavioral learning and reinforcement.

• When action has been executed you, perceive the outcome which completes the perception-action cycle by modifying cognitive neural settings for future situations
• This is where stage 3 provides a critical learning element where the outcome is perceived as successful or unsuccessful relative to intention of action and the assessment is subjective in not necessarily equivalent to the objective costs/benefits for the team, but related to the individual's goals/level of self interest which may/may not overlap with the team
• The learning impact of the assessment is coupled with the player’s expectations for the outcome, an inherent aspect of the action produced in stage 2 where an action with low expectation of success will lead to a stronger behavioral feedback if successful than an action expected to be carried out well every time and vice versa
• This relates to the theory of reward of prediction error which states that the difference between predicted/received rewards is the central mechanism for behavioral learning and at the neurophysiological level
• Prediction errors are indexed through up and down regulation of activity in dopaminergic neurons which signal the amount of deviation from the predicted outcome which can affect cognitive processes related to action selection corresponding to plastic changes in the balance between excitation/inhibition of specific response in stage 2.
• This dopaminergic behaviur also feeds back to the orientation movements at stage 1 that immediately preceded the action and reinforces this behavior either positively or negatively where the assessment of the action outcome makes the player either more or less likely to try that again in the future
• There’s some overlap in mesolimbic dopaminergic activity between monetary and social (sport-related) rewards indicating that the general neural mechanisms of reward learning also apply to sports
• There’s also an interaction with egoism personality scores where the activation of the middle front gyrus when scoring indirectly via a pass v by a direct shot correlated with this personality measure