Even the most accomplished athletes, musicians, and performers sometimes “choke” — delivering a failing performance at even the most elemental feat.

Now neuroscientists at the University of Sussex's Sackler Centre and Brighton and Sussex Medical School have identified the brain network system that causes athletes — and average Joes and Janes — to stumble under pressure.

Dr. Michiko Yoshie and her colleagues pinpointed the brain area that causes performance mishaps during an experiment using functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging (fMRI).

Past research has shown that people tend to exert more force when they know they are being watched. Pianists unconsciously press keys harder when they play in front of an audience, for instance, compared to when playing alone.

In the new study, published in Scientific Reports, participants' brain activity was monitored while carrying out a task that required them to exert a precise amount of force when gripping an object.
During the experiment, the volunteers viewed video footage of two people whom they believed were evaluating their performance. They then repeated the task while viewing video footage of two people who appeared to be evaluating the performance of someone else.

When they thought they were being watched, participants felt more and tended to grip the object harder.

Scan results showed that an area of the brain that governs fine sensorimotor functions — the inferior parietal cortex (IPC) — became deactivated when people felt they were being observed. That, in term, hindered their performance of the task.

Dr Yoshie said for those with extreme performance anxiety, brain stimulation techniques such as the transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may be able to help.

There are also now various types of neurofeedback training, which can help people to learn how to control their own brain activity.

"It's important to believe that the audience is supporting you and wishing for your successful performance,” she added.

Other tactics that may work: Try to perform in front of supporters until you are more comfortable doing so in front of strangers.

“For example, before an actual public performance, a musician could perform in front of his/her family and close friends and receive a lot of applause,” she suggested. “Such [an] experience would help you to induce a desirable activation pattern in your brain and boost self-confidence."