Perceptual Decision Advantages in Open-Skill Athletes Emerge near the Threshold of Awareness: Behavioral, Computational, and Electrophysiological Evidence

TL;DR

Open-skill athletes make better perceptual decisions near the threshold of awareness due to faster evidence accumulation, not early sensory processing.

Contribution

Identifies that perceptual advantages in open-skill athletes stem from enhanced late-stage decision processing, not early sensory sensitivity.

Findings

Athletes show higher accuracy and faster responses at intermediate to high stimulus visibility levels.

Drift rate differences in athletes indicate faster evidence accumulation, not changes in decision strategy.

P3 ERP components in athletes show earlier and stronger differentiation linked to behavior.

Abstract

What are the main findings?
Open-skill athletes show perceptual decision advantages selectively near the threshold of awareness.These advantages are driven by higher evidence accumulation rates (drift rate) rather than response strategy or non-decision time.

Open-skill athletes show perceptual decision advantages selectively near the threshold of awareness.

These advantages are driven by higher evidence accumulation rates (drift rate) rather than response strategy or non-decision time.

What are the implications of the main findings?
Early sensory ERP components (N2, P2) are similarly modulated by stimulus visibility in athletes and non-athletes.Enhanced and earlier P3 differentiation, as well as stronger P3–behavior coupling, indicate more efficient decision-related processing in athletes.

Early sensory ERP components (N2, P2) are similarly modulated by stimulus visibility in athletes and non-athletes.

Enhanced and earlier P3 differentiation, as well as stronger P3–behavior coupling, indicate more efficient decision-related processing in athletes.

Background/Objectives: Perceptual awareness and decision formation unfold gradually as sensory evidence increases. Near the threshold of awareness, small differences in neural processing efficiency can be amplified into marked behavioral variability. Open-skill athletes are trained to make rapid decisions under dynamic and uncertain conditions, yet it remains unclear whether their perceptual advantage reflects enhanced early sensory sensitivity or more efficient late-stage evidence accumulation. This study aimed to identify the processing stage at which open-skill sports expertise exerts its influence. Methods: Twenty-five open-skill athletes and twenty-three non-athlete controls completed a visual orientation discrimination task with eight graded levels of stimulus visibility, ranging from subliminal to clearly visible. Behavioral performance was analyzed together with hierarchical drift–diffusion modeling to estimate latent decision parameters. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded using a 64-channel EEG system during an active decision task and a passive viewing task, focusing on early (N2, P2) and late (P3) components. ERP–behavior correlations were examined across visibility levels. Results: No group differences were observed at the lowest visibility levels. Group differences emerged selectively at intermediate to high visibility levels, where athletes showed higher accuracy and a tendency toward faster responses. Drift–diffusion modeling revealed that this advantage was driven by higher drift rates in athletes, with no group differences in non-decision time, boundary separation, or starting point. Early ERP components (N2, P2) were strongly modulated by stimulus visibility but showed no consistent group differences. In contrast, the P3 component exhibited earlier and more pronounced differentiation across visibility levels in athletes. In the passive viewing task, group differences were substantially reduced. ERP–behavior analyses showed stronger and earlier P3–behavior coupling in athletes. Conclusions: Open-skill sports expertise selectively optimizes late-stage evidence accumulation and its translation into behavior, rather than enhancing unconscious or early sensory processing.

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