The future of Quiet Eye research – comment on Vickers

The Quiet Eye (QE) phenomenon has a robust literature base. However, the specific mechanisms by which the QE enables athletes to be more accurate are still not fully understood. Furthermore, QE has been shown to negate the negative effects of anxiety, but similarly, the specific role it plays is unknown. A more systematic and strategic approach to future research is needed to delineate the different theories and develop a stronger, more concrete understanding. There is also the question of QE training, which appears to have a significant impact on performance in a relatively short time period. Limitations to current studies as well as suggestions for future projects are outlined. Technological advances are also discussed in relation to enabling researchers to better understand the neural underpinnings of the QE advantage

Quiet Eye Training in a Visuomotor Control Task

Introduction: Several researchers have reported the importance of maintaining a longer final fixation on the target (termed the quiet eye period, QE) prior to performing an aiming task. We present an innovative, perceptual training intervention intended to improve the efficiency of gaze behavior (i.e., QE) in shotgun shooting. Methods: A sample of 20 International-level, skeet shooters were assigned equally to one of two, matched-ability groups based on their pre-test shooting scores. A perceptual training group participated in a 4-step, pre-shot routine, alongside three video feedback sessions involving their own gaze behaviors and those of an expert model in an effort to influence positively QE behaviors. A control group received video feedback of performance, but without the addition of feedback on QE behaviors. Participants completed pre- and post-tests along with an 8-week training intervention. Results: The perceptual training group significantly increased its mean QE duration (397 cw 423 ms), employed an earlier onset of QE (257 cw 244 ms), and recorded higher shooting accuracy scores (62 cw 70 %) from pre- to post-test. Participants in the perceptual training group significantly reduced gun barrel displacement and absolute peak velocity on the post- compared to the pre-test, even though neither variable was overtly trained. A transfer test, based on performance during competition, indicated that perceptual training significantly improved shooting accuracy pre- to post-intervention. No pre- to post-test differences were observed for the control group on the measures reported. Conclusion: The results demonstrate the effectiveness of QE training in improving shooting accuracy and developing a more efficient visuo-motor control strategy. Findings have implications for future research on training visuo-motor behaviors, attention and gaze orientation during the performance of aiming tasks

Congruency of gaze metrics in action, imagery and action observation

The aim of this paper is to provide a review of eye movements during action execution, action observation, and movement imagery. Furthermore, the paper highlights aspects of congruency in gaze metrics between these states. The implications of the imagery, observation, and action gaze congruency are discussed in terms of motor learning and rehabilitation. Future research directions are outlined in order to further the understanding of shared gaze metrics between overt and covert states. Suggestions are made for how researchers and practitioners can structure action observation and movement imagery interventions to maximize (re)learning

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

The Use of Patterns to Disguise Environmental Cues During an Anticipatory Judgment Task

A number of novel manipulations to the design of playing uniforms were used to try to disguise the actions of penalty takers in soccer. Skilled and less-skilled soccer goalkeepers were required to anticipate penalty kick outcome while their opponent wore one of three different uniform designs that were intended to disguise the availability of potentially key information from the hip region. Variations of shapes/patterns were designed to conceal the actual alignment of the hips. Three occlusion points were used in the test film: -160 ms, -80 ms before, and at foot-ball contact. Skilled individuals reported higher accuracy scores than their less-skilled counterparts (p .05); however, the skilled group decreased their accuracy on the experimental conditions compared with the control (p < .05). Findings highlight the potential benefits of designing playing uniforms that facilitate disguise in sport

The coupling between gaze behavior and opponent kinematics during anticipation of badminton shots

Purpose: We examined links between the kinematics of an opponent’s actions and the visual search behaviors of badminton players responding to those actions. Method: A kinematic analysis of international standard badminton players (n = 4) was undertaken as they completed a range of serves. Video of these players serving was used to create a life-size temporal occlusion test to measure anticipation responses. Expert (n = 8) and novice (n = 8) badminton players anticipated serve location while wearing an eye movement registration system. Results: During the execution phase of the opponent’s movement, the kinematic analysis showed between-shot differences in distance traveled and peak acceleration at the shoulder, elbow, wrist and racket. Experts were more accurate at responding to the serves compared to novice players. Expert players fixated on the kinematic locations that were most discriminating between serve types more frequently and for a longer duration compared to novice players. Moreover, players were generally more accurate at responding to serves when they fixated vision upon the discriminating arm and racket kinematics. Conclusions: Findings extend previous literature by providing empirical evidence that expert athletes’ visual search behaviors

The Effects of High- and Low-Anxiety Training on the Anticipation Judgments of Elite Performers

We examined the effects of high- versus low-anxiety conditions during video-based training of anticipation judgments using international-level badminton players facing serves and the transfer to high-anxiety and field-based conditions. Players were assigned to a high-anxiety training (HA), low-anxiety training (LA) or control group (CON) in a pretraining–posttest design. In the pre- and posttest, players anticipated serves from video and on court under high- and low-anxiety conditions. In the video-based high-anxiety pretest, anticipation response accuracy was lower and final fixations shorter when compared with the low-anxiety pretest. In the low-anxiety posttest, HA and LA demonstrated greater accuracy of judgments and longer final fixations compared with pretest and CON. In the high-anxiety posttest, HA maintained accuracy when compared with the low-anxiety posttest, whereas LA had lower accuracy. In the on-court posttest, the training groups demonstrated greater accuracy of judgments compared with the pretest and CON

The effect of stimulus intensity on response time and accuracy in dynamic, temporally constrained environments

The ability to make accurate judgments and execute effective skilled movements under severe temporal constraints are fundamental to elite performance in a number of domains including sport, military combat, law enforcement, and medicine. In two experiments, we examine the effect of stimulus strength on response time and accuracy in a temporally constrained, real-world, decision-making task. Specifically, we examine the effect of low stimulus intensity (black) and high stimulus intensity (sequin) uniform designs, worn by teammates, to determine the effect of stimulus strength on the ability of soccer players to make rapid and accurate responses. In both field- and laboratory-based scenarios, professional soccer players viewed developing patterns of play and were required to make a penetrative pass to an attacking player. Significant differences in response accuracy between uniform designs were reported in laboratory- and field-based experiments. Response accuracy was significantly higher in the sequin compared with the black uniform condition. Response times only differed between uniform designs in the laboratory-based experiment. These findings extend the literature into a real-world environment and have significant implications for the design of clothing wear in a number of domains

Architecture and Conservation of the Bacterial DNA Replication Machinery, an Underexploited Drug Target

New antibiotics with novel modes of action are required to combat the growing threat posed by multi-drug resistant bacteria. Over the last decade, genome sequencing and other high-throughput techniques have provided tremendous insight into the molecular processes underlying cellular functions in a wide range of bacterial species. We can now use these data to assess the degree of conservation of certain aspects of bacterial physiology, to help choose the best cellular targets for development of new broad-spectrum antibacterials

The role of error processing in the contextual interference effect during the training of perceptual-cognitive skills

The contextual interference (CI) effect refers to the learning benefits that occur from a random compared to blocked practice order. In this paper, the cognitive effort explanation for the CI effect was examined by investigating the role of error processing. In two experiments, a perceptual-cognitive task was used in which participants anticipated three different tennis skills across a pre-test, three practice sessions, and retention test. During practice, the skills were presented in either a random or blocked practice order. In Experiment 1, cognitive effort was examined using a probe reaction time task. In Experiment 2, cognitive effort was manipulated for two groups by inserting a cognitively demanding secondary task into the inter-trial interval. The CI effect was found in both experiments as the random groups displayed superior learning in the retention test compared to the blocked groups. Cognitive effort during practice was greater in random compared to blocked practice groups in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, greater decrements in secondary task performance following an error were reported for the random group when compared to the blocked group. The suggestion is that not only the frequent switching of tasks in randomized orders causes increased cognitive effort and the CI effect, but it is also error processing in combination with task switching. Findings extend the cognitive effort explanation for the CI effect and propose an alternative hypothesis highlighting the role of error processing