Differences in response inhibition in female college students of different soccer levels: correlation with brain anatomy

Large differences in response inhibition during Stop-Signal task among female college students at different soccer levels were correlated with brain anatomy after magnetic resonance imaging．Participants (34) were divided into control group (CG), amateur group (AG) and professional group (PG) according to their soccer training levels．Stop-Signal task was used to assess response inhibition．Differences in T1 structural images among groups were analyzed by Voxel-based morphometry, and corrected by FDR．Correlation between response inhibition and brain regions was evaluated．Compared with reaction time in CG, reaction time in PG and AG was found to shorten by 48 and 44 ms (P < 0.05) respectively．The Stop-Signal reaction time in PG and AG decreased by 116 and 96 ms respectively when compared to CG (P < 0.05); Stop-Signal reaction time in PG decreased by 10 ms when compared with AG (P < 0.05)．PG showed higher accuracy rate than CG (P < 0.05)．Professional group showed bigger gray matter volume in the right postcentral gyrus, precentral gyrus, thalamus, cerebellum_Crus1, cerebellum vermis, left thalamus, pallidum, cerebellum_Crus1 than control group (P < 0.05, FDR)．Compared with AG, PG showed increased gray matter volume in the right fusiform gyrus, precentral gyrus and left middle cingulate gyrus (P < 0.001)．Augmented gray matter volume was found in bilateral pallidum in AG when compared to CG (P < 0.001)．Response time showed significant negative correlation with concentration of cerebellum vermis Ⅷ (P < 0.05, r = −0.12)．SSRT showed significant negative correlation with concentration of right thalamus (P < 0.05, r = −0.41) and left pallidum (P < 0.01, r = −0.49)．Accuracy rate of inhibition showed significant positive correlation with concentration of right fusiform gyrus (P < 0.05, r = 0.46) and left pallidum (P < 0.01, r = 0.47)．It is concluded that long-term soccer training significantly improve response inhibition in college female students．Response inhibition is correlated with gray matter density in cerebellum vermis Ⅷ, left pallidum, right fusiform gyrus and thalamus．Long-term soccer training may induce transformation of basal ganglia and cerebellum gray matter volume to mediate improved response inhibition．More longitudinal control studies are needed to further determine such causal relationships．