The study of per for mance has long been at the center of research interests for sport scientists. Professional athletes have been used as models in neuroscientific studies of expertise. Per for mance in cognitive neuroscience, however, is not confined to the action of a player, but involves decision- making skills related to anticipating the consequences of the actions of others or reacting to an opponent or teammate. Accordingly, observing “social” actions is of paramount importance in both sport science and neuroscience settings. In keeping with the embodied cognition theory, the ability to represent the meaning of gestures of another is based on the possibility that one is able to reactivate, in one’s own motor system, the programs associated with the observed action.

--

• Psicologia - Ciências Sociais