Neural, mood, and endocrine responses in elite athletes relative to successful and failed performance videos

In this follow-up study, self-referential videos of success and failure were used for mood provocation to investigate mood, neural, and endocrine activity among 26 internationally competitive athletes using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and salivary hormone measures. The initial sample of 14 athletes who had experienced career-threatening failure was contrasted to 12 athletes with exceptional success. Endocrine data were added to the preliminary report to round out a psychoneuroendocrinology perspective on success and failure. On-line and prepost mood ratings confirmed successful mood provocation. fMRI BOLD signals revealed significantly greater activation in right premotor cortex and left sensorimotor cortices following self-reference video for successful athletes than (previously reported) failed athletes. Percentage gains in the ratio of testosterone to cortisol from Time 1 to Time 2 among success athletes positively correlated with right premotor cortex BOLD activity. Overall, the results suggest that affect associated with self-reference corresponds to an integrated neural and endocrine response to competitive challenge.