Fig 1.
Comparison of global parameters between the athlete group and control group.
Black indicates the athlete group while white indicates the control group. The brain network of the athlete group had a higher global efficiency and a lower shortest path coefficient and small-worldness.
Table 1.
Changes in regional parameters in basketball players.
Fig 2.
Comparison of regional parameters between athlete and control groups.
A shows the bigger node size of brain networks in athletes group with higher regional parameters compared to the control group. B shows the bigger node size of brain networks in the control group with higher regional parameters relative to the athlete group. Red nodes indicate the sensorimotor network while yellow nodes indicate the visual network, green nodes the attention network, light blue nodes the default-mode network, and the dark blue nodes the limbic/subcortex network.
Fig 3.
The correlation between regional parameters and years of training.
SMA: supplementary motor area; MTG: middle temporal gyrus; LING: lingual gyrus. The results show that the regional parameters of right SMA, left MTG and right LING are positively correlated to the number of years of training.
Table 2.
Fractional anisotropy data for peak voxels of athletes > novices.
Fig 4.
Tissue microstructure result of white matter.
(A) Green denotes the white matter skeleton and red denoted the areas with significant bigger fractional anisotropy. (B) The reconstructed streamlines are shown for the major three nerve fiber bundles in the brain. Yellow denoted the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus connecting occipital and limbic system. Orange denoted the inferior longitudinal fasciculus connecting occipital and temporal. Red denoted the uncinated fasciculus connecting orbitofrontal and basal ganglia.