Author(s): CHEN, D., LIN, C.Y., WANG, K.P., Institution: NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY, Country: TAIWAN, Abstract-ID: 1801

INTRODUCTION: Flow has been considered the ideal mental state for peak performance in sports psychology. From a psychophysiological perspective, flow states in precision sports are captured by suppressed Frontal Midline Theta (Fmθ; 4–7 Hz), an indicator of reduced conscious control, and augmented Sensorimotor Rhythm (SMR; 12–15 Hz), which reflects enhanced automatic skill execution. However, due to the elusive nature of flow, modern frameworks such as the Multi-Action Plan (MAP) model argue that active control serves as an alternative pathway to excellence. A research gap remains regarding the effective duration of flow and the precise moments when an athlete should invest cognitive resources rather than attempting to maintain flow. Thus, this study aimed to examine how Fmθ and SMR predicted precision performance and whether these relationships remained consistent throughout the task.
METHODS: 17 semi-professional golfers completed a 60-putt task. Performance was measured by the radial distance from the hole to the ball. Real-time EEG data were recorded, and 2000 ms pre-putt segments were epoched to evaluate Event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) in Fmθ and SMR using a time-frequency approach. To examine the neural correlates of performance dynamics, Linear Mixed Models (LMM) were fitted to the trial-by-trial data. The models included Fmθ and SMR ERSPs as predictors, with trial sequence and previous-trial success (ball-in) as fixed factors and participant ID as a random intercept.
RESULTS: After LMM analysis, the Fmθ ERSP positively predicted the radial distance (B = 3.01, p = .022), whereas both trial sequence (B = –0.45, p = .005) and the interaction between Fmθ and trial sequence (B = -2.36, p = .018) were negative predictors of radial distance. An exhaustive search identified the region of significance, revealing that the predictive effect of Fmθ ERSP was significant before the 13th putt (ps = .033 to .046). A subsequent slope test confirmed a significant difference in predictive strength between the early (putts < 13) and later (putts ≥ 13) stages (p = .004). Regarding the LMM analysis for SMR ERSP, the only significant predictor of performance was trial sequence (B = –0.39, p = .014).
CONCLUSION: The relationship between Fmθ ERSP and performance is time-dependent. In the early stage, negative-going Fmθ during motor preparation was associated with fewer errors, supporting the flow viewpoint that mitigation of conscious control is associated with performance improvement. Yet, the declining strength of this relationship highlights a "snare of flow," suggesting that athletes should adjust their attentional processing, such as a more conscious control mode, to achieve peak performance in the later stage. In contrast, SMR ERSP did not significantly predict putting errors. This implies that golf putting involves complex sensory and motor integration, requiring maintenance of sensorimotor cortex activation, thereby restricting the SMR ERSP.