ArticlePloS one2015
Investigating Neuroanatomical Features in Top Athletes at the Single Subject Level.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- An ALE meta-analysis on the effects of neural changes due to exercise on executive function in a healthy population.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Differences in Anatomical Structures and Resting-State Brain Networks Between Elite Wrestlers and Handball Athletes.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Increased Cortical Activity in Novices Compared to Experts During Table Tennis: A Whole-Brain fNIRS Study Using Threshold-Free Cluster Enhancement Analysis.Brain topography · 2023Article
- Mapping brain structure and function in professional fencers: A model to study training effects on central nervous system plasticity.Human brain mapping · 2022Article
- State of Knowledge on Molecular Adaptations to Exercise in Humans: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions.Comprehensive Physiology · 2022Article
- Hyper-Adaptation in the Human Brain: Functional and Structural Changes in the Foot Section of the Primary Motor Cortex in a Top Wheelchair Racing Paralympian.Frontiers in systems neuroscience · 2022Article
- Longitudinal Associations Between Brain Volume and Knee Extension Peak Torque.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2021Observational
- Structural brain differences between ultra-endurance athletes and sedentary persons.Sports medicine and health science · 2020Article
- Acute Low-Intensity Aerobic Exercise Modulates Intracortical Inhibitory and Excitatory Circuits in an Exercised and a Non-exercised Muscle in the Primary Motor Cortex.Frontiers in physiology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In sport events like Olympic Games or World Championships competitive athletes keep pushing the boundaries of human performance. Compared to team sports, high achievements in many athletic disciplines depend solely on the individual's performance. Contrasting previous research looking for expertise-related differences in brain anatomy at the group level, we aim to demonstrate changes in individual top athlete's brain, which would be averaged out in a group analysis. We compared structural magnetic resonance images (MRI) of three professional track-and-field athletes to age-, gender- and education-matched control subjects. To determine brain features specific to these top athletes, we tested for significant deviations in structural grey matter density between each of the three top athletes and a carefully matched control sample. While total brain volumes were comparable between athletes and controls, we show regional grey matter differences in striatum and thalamus. The demonstrated brain anatomy patterns remained stable and were detected after 2 years with Olympic Games in between. We also found differences in the fusiform gyrus in two top long jumpers. We interpret our findings in reward-related areas as correlates of top athletes' persistency to reach top-level skill performance over years.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.