Identifying the causal mechanisms of the quiet eye

Scientists who have examined the gaze strategies employed by athletes have determined that longer quiet eye (QE) durations (QED) are characteristic of skilled compared to less-skilled performers. However, the cognitive mechanisms of the QE and, specifically, how the QED affects performance are not yet fully understood. We review research that has examined the functional mechanism underlying QE and discuss the neural networks that may be involved. We also highlight the limitations surrounding QE measurement and its definition and propose future research directions to address these shortcomings. Investigations into the behavioural and neural mechanisms of QE will aid the understanding of the perceptual and cognitive processes underlying expert performance and the factors that change as expertise develops

Does anticipation of penalty kicks in soccer transfer across similar and dissimilar sports?

The aim of the present study was to examine whether anticipation skill associated with penalty-kick scenarios is sport-specific, or whether it transfers between sports that have similar elements. A shortened participation history questionnaire was used to identify 97 soccer players, 47 invasion sport players (e.g., rugby), and 72 other sport players (e.g., swimming), as well as skill level (hours of engagement/competition level). These participants completed a video-based temporal occlusion anticipation test that required them to select the destination of the ball across a series of soccer penalty scenarios. Results indicated that the skilled soccer players were more accurate than the skilled and less-skilled invasion sport players and skilled and less-skilled other sport players. Skilled soccer players were also more accurate than the less-skilled soccer players, with less-skilled soccer players exhibiting similar accuracy to both the skilled and less-skilled invasion sport and other sport players indicating that processes associated with anticipation of penalty kicks may be specific to their sport

Expertise differences in anticipatory judgements during a temporally and spatially occluded dynamic task

There is contradictory evidence surrounding the role of critical cues in the successful anticipation of penalty kick outcome. In the current study, skilled and less-skilled soccer goalkeepers were required to anticipate spatially (full body; hip region) and temporally (–160 ms, –80 ms before, foot–ball contact) occluded penalty kicks. The skilled group outperformed the less-skilled group in all conditions. Both groups performed better in the full body, compared to hip region condition. Later temporal occlusion conditions were associated with increased performance in the correct response and correct side analysis, but not for correct height. These data suggest that there is enough postural information from the hip region for skilled goalkeepers to make highly accurate predictions of penalty kick direction, however, other regions are needed in order to make predictions of height. These data demonstrate the evolution of cues over time and have implications for anticipation training

Do Decision-Making Skills During Defensive Scenarios in Soccer Transfer Across Similar and Dissimilar Sports?

Expert performance in highly dynamic and time pressured team sports such as soccer is underpinned by successful decision-making. Little research exists examining whether these decision-making skills associated with defensive scenarios can be transferred across similar and dissimilar sports. A shortened participation history questionnaire was used to identify 98 soccer players, 35 invasion sport players (e.g., rugby) and 52 other sport players (e.g., swimming), as well as skill level (hours of engagement/competition level). These participants completed a video-based temporal occlusion test designed to measure decision making in 11 vs. 11 defensive soccer scenarios. Results indicated that the skilled soccer players were more accurate than the skilled and less-skilled invasion sport players and skilled and less-skilled other sport players. Skilled soccer players were also more accurate than the less- skilled soccer players, with less-skilled soccer players exhibiting similar accuracy to both the skilled and less-skilled invasion sport and other sport players indicating that processes associated with decision- making in defensive scenarios may be specific to their sport

Atypical biological kinematics are represented during observational practice

The present study investigated the effect of stimulus-response compatibility on the representation of atypical biological kinematics during observational practice. A compatible group observed an atypical model that moved rightwards, whereas an incompatible group observed an atypical model that moved leftwards. Both groups were instructed to observe the model with the intention to later reproduce the movement trajectory. This was examined in a post-test where participants were asked to move rightwards with a kinematic profile that matched the atypical kinematics. Compared to a control group that did not engage in practice, and irrespective of whether the stimulus was observed in a spatially compatible or incompatible orientation, participants from both experimental groups reproduced velocity profiles that were comparable, and similar to the atypical biological kinematics. Bayesian analysis indicated equality between the two experimental groups, thus suggesting comparable sensorimotor processing. Therefore, by rotating the incompatible stimulus by 180 degrees during observational practice, the current study has isolated the processing and representation of atypical biological kinematics to the underlying sensorimotor processes, rather than spatial encoding of peak velocity via processes associated with stimulus-response compatibility

Performance and operational characteristics of point-of-care tests for the diagnosis of urogenital gonococcal infections.

BACKGROUND: In 2012, there was an estimated 78 million new cases of gonorrhoea globally. Untreated infection may lead to reproductive and neonatal morbidity and facilitate HIV transmission. Diagnosis and treatment are a priority for control and prevention, yet use of point-of-care tests (POCTs) for Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) is limited. OBJECTIVES: To review the performance and operational characteristics of NG POCTs for diagnosis of urogenital gonorrhoea. METHODS: We compiled and synthesised findings from two separate systematic reviews which included evaluations published until August 2015. RESULTS: Six tests were included: five were immunochromatographic tests (ICTs) or optical immunoassay (OIAs) based on antigen detection; with 5-7 steps and results in 25-40 min, and one (GeneXpert CT/NG) was a 'near-patient test' based on nucleic acid amplification technique (NAAT); with three steps, electricity required, and results in 90 min. When compared with laboratory-based NAATs as the reference tests, sensitivities of ICT and OIA-based POCTs ranged from 12.5% to 70% when cervical/vaginal swabs were tested. Specificities ranged from 89% to 99.8%. The near-patient NAAT had sensitivities of >95% and specificities of >99.8% consistently across all specimen types (urine, cervical and vaginal swabs). CONCLUSIONS: Based on a limited number of evaluations, antigen detection POCTs for NG lacked sufficient sensitivity to be used for screening. A near-patient NAAT has acceptable performance, only involved a few steps, but needs electricity, a temperature-controlled environment and has a 90 min run time. To achieve wider scale up of NG POCTs, we need strong evidence of cost-effectiveness, which should inform guidelines and ultimately increase test development, demand and reduce costs

Developmental activities of professional male British rugby-league players versus controls

Purpose:Many rugby league clubs rely on developing youth athletes into experts in adulthood. One factor that contributes to the attainment of expertise is the activities that athletes engage in across their development. Therefore, the developmental activities of professional male British rugby league players were compared to lesser-skilled players. Methods:Players who had progressed from youth academies to professional status, those who were released from youth academies, and those who had only played recreationally completed the Participation History Questionnaire. Results:During childhood, professional players accumulated significantly greater amounts of play compared to ex-academy and recreational players, as well as greater coach-led practice compared to ex-academy . During early adolescence, this pattern continued, whereas in late adolescence the professional and ex-academy players accumulated significantly greater amounts of coach-led practice compared to their recreational counterparts. Professional players accumulated more hours in rugby league up to 18 years of age compared to ex-academy players, with both groups accumulating more hours than recreational . The number of other sports engaged in was relatively low across development and did not discriminate between performance levels. Conclusion:Findings from this study may inform future practice of talent development systems within rugby league in Britain

Howzat! Expert umpires use a gaze anchor to overcome the processing demands of leg before wicket decisions.

Cricket umpires are required to make high-pressure, match-changing decisions based on multiple complex information sources under severe temporal constraints. The aim of this study was to examine the decision-making and perceptual-cognitive differences between expert and novice cricket umpires when judging leg before wicket (LBW) decisions. Twelve expert umpires and 19 novice umpires were fitted with an eye-tracker before viewing video-based LBW appeals. Dependent variables were radial error (cm), number of fixations, average fixation duration (ms), final fixation duration (ms), and final fixation location (%). Expert umpires were significantly more accurate at adjudicating on all aspects of the LBW law, compared to the novice umpires (p < .05). The expert umpires' final fixation prior to ball-pad contact was directed significantly more towards the stumps (p < .05), whereas the novice umpires directed their final fixation significantly more towards a good length (p < .05). These data suggest that expert umpires utilize specialized perceptual-cognitive skills, consisting of a gaze anchor on the stumps in order to overcome the processing demands of the task. These data have implications for the training of current and aspiring umpires in order to enhance the accuracy of LBW decision-making across all levels of the cricketing pyramid

Effect of the look-up line on the gaze and head orientation of elite ice hockey players

A “look-up-line” (LUL) has been proposed for ice hockey, which is an orange 1 m (40 in) warning line (WL) painted on the ice at the base of the boards. The LUL purports to provide an early warning to players to keep their head up prior to, and as they are being checked. We determined if players looked-up more on a rink with the LUL compared to a traditional Control rink. Elite offensive (O) and defensive (D) players competed 1 vs 1, while wearing an eye tracker that recorded their quiet eye (QE) and fixation tracking (F-T) and an electro-goniometer that measured head angle. External cameras recorded skate duration during four skate phases: P1 preparation, P2 decision-making, P3 cut to boards, P4 contact. The QE was the final fixation prior to contact between O and D as they skated toward and across the WL during P3 and P4. Skate phase durations (%) did not differ by rink or rink by position. More QE and F-T occurred on the WL on the LUL rink than on the Control. The expected increase in head angle on the LUL rink did not occur during P3 or P4. Post-hoc results also showed O and D skated further from the boards on the LUL rink, suggesting the players preferred to control the puck on white ice, rather than the orange color of the LUL rink. More research is needed to determine if these results apply to the competitive setting

No ball! The effect of task-switching on expert umpire leg-before-wicket judgments

Cognitive psychologists have consistently shown that switching between consecutive tasks can result in the misallocation of attention and poorer performance. Cricket umpires are required to determine the legality of each delivery by considering the landing position of the bowler’s front foot in relation to the crease, before reallocating their attention to events related to the ball and batter. The aim of this study was to examine whether this attentional switch would modulate performance when adjudicating legbefore-wicket (LBW) decisions. Fifteen expert cricket umpires wore an eye tracker as they performed a series of LBW decision tasks in two conditions (task-switching, control), with and without the requirement to adjudicate the front foot no ball. Dependent variables were as follows: radial error (cm), final fixation duration (ms), pre-impact duration (ms), post-impact dwell time (ms), number of fixations, average fixation duration (ms) and final fixation location (%). Overall radial error was not significantly different between the task-switching and control conditions; however, radial error was higher on the initial pitch judgment in the task-switching, compared to control condition. In successful trials, umpires employed a longer final fixation duration and post-impact dwell time on the stumps. Task-switching led to shorter final fixation and pre-impact durations as well as an increased number of final fixations to less-relevant locations. These data suggest that expert umpires use adaptive gaze strategies to maintain decision accuracy despite increases in processing demands and the constraints of reallocating attention. These data have implications for understanding expert perceptual-cognitive skill in complex decisionmaking tasks and may have implications for the development of training protocols for sub-elite umpires