About

Bradley Hatfield is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Maryland's School of Public Health. He received his PhD from Penn State University, specializing in the psychological aspects of sport and human factors. His research focuses on brain dynamics underlying motor skill learning and performance, with particular attention to the impact of practice, motivation, and mental stress on human performance in sport, military, and tactical athlete populations. Additionally, he conducts research on the effects of exercise on the brain and mental health. His areas of interest include exercise and brain aging, human performance, brain function, psychophysiology, and sport management. Hatfield has contributed to the understanding of cognitive and affective neuroscience related to athletic performance, cognitive-motor expertise, and mental workload. He has authored numerous publications in these fields and has been recognized with awards and honors, including fellowships and leadership roles in professional organizations. His work emphasizes the intersection of physical activity, brain function, and performance optimization.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Neuroscience
• Medicine
• Virology
• Visual arts
• Internal medicine
• Engineering
• Human–computer interaction
• Audiology
• Physical medicine and rehabilitation
• Intensive care medicine
• Physical therapy
• Art
• Simulation

Selected publications

• Neurocognitive and Autonomic Signatures of Performance Under Motivational Stress: An Integrated Psychophysiological Analysis of Reward and Punishment in Shooting Performance

  Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports · 2026-02-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Motivational framing-such as reward and punishment-critically shapes performance under pressure, yet the underlying neurocognitive and autonomic mechanisms remain unclear. Guided by the cognitive-affective-motor (CAM) model and psychomotor efficiency theory (PET), this study examined how motivational context modulates brain-body dynamics during high-pressure precision performance. Using a within-subject design, elite marksmen performed a simulated shooting task under reward, punishment, and neutral conditions. Neurophysiological markers were assessed across four domains: affective regulation (frontal alpha asymmetry [FAA], eyeblink startle [EBS]), cognitive control (feedback-related negativity [fERN], frontal midline theta), motor readiness (sensorimotor rhythm [SMR], fronto-temporal coherence), and autonomic flexibility (heart rate variability [HRV]). Reward framing elicited a coordinated brain-body state marked by elevated SMR and HRV, greater left-frontal activation, and reduced fERN and coherence-supporting focus, emotional control, and movement stability. Punishment elicited defensive arousal, heightened error sensitivity, and disrupted cortical communication, particularly in lower performers. These results demonstrate that motivational incentives recalibrate neurocognitive and autonomic systems, shaping performance resilience or vulnerability. The identified markers represent viable targets for neurofeedback and biofeedback interventions aimed at enhancing resilience, attentional control, and execution in elite sport performance.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Using a self-modulated treadmill as a novel approach to study cognitive-motor and biomechanical outcomes during dual-task walking in individuals with and without lower limb loss

  Experimental Brain Research · 2026-01-21

  articleOpen access

  Combined examination of mental workload and biomechanics during dual-task walking in individuals with lower-limb loss is limited to fixed, but not self-modulated walking pace, for which the latter enables dynamic cognitive-motor behavior as typically engaged during community ambulation. By assessing electroencephalography (EEG) (theta, low/high-alpha power) and biomechanics (gait speed, double limb support, stride width), the cerebral cortical activity underlying mental workload and walking mechanics were examined when individuals with and without lower-limb loss executed a cognitive task (assessed via response time and accuracy) under variable demand (seated and walking). Both populations maintained walking mechanics (unchanged gait speed, double limb support, stride width) during dual-task walking across demand and exhibited similarly elevated neurocognitive engagement (e.g., attention, action monitoring) indicated by similar theta power increase and low/high-alpha power decrease when facing greater demand. However, injured individuals exhibited relative performance decrement (degraded response time/accuracy), which suggests attenuated cognitive-motor efficiency relative to uninjured (i.e., similar cortical activity across groups with degraded performance). Moreover, while uninjured individuals during dual-task walking could robustly engage neurocognitive processes to maintain walking mechanics and successfully attend to the concurrent cognitive task, those with lower-limb loss did not exhibit such a robust recruitment (i.e., unchanged frontal/temporal high-alpha power). Such alterations in individuals with lower-limb loss leads to maintenance of walking at the cost of a concurrent task. The present work informs rehabilitation practice and reveals specific cognitive-motor outcomes for individuals with lower-limb loss in an enhanced ecological context.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Study of Brain Dynamics in Simulated Piloting Tracking Tasks

  2025-05-20

  article1st authorCorresponding

  A study of mental workload and the resultant cognitive-motor behavior is essential to understanding the intrinsic limitations of the human information processing system, the results of which have impact on the design of safety-critical systems. While the effects of increased task demand on mental workload and the quality of cognitive-motor performance has been previously investigated, it remains unclear how system controllability (i.e., expected handling qualities) impacts perceptual workload and performance. Furthermore, traditional EEG spectral metrics lack the temporal specificity to capture dynamic workload. Consequently, the purpose of this experiment was to examine objective brain dynamics, task performance, and subjective ratings during piloting tracking tasks of varying complexity while also challenging participants with different expected levels of handling qualities. Our results revealed a trend suggestive of increasing mental workload related to increased task complexity and varying levels of expected handling qualities. To examine dynamic operator workload with increased temporal fidelity, we introduce a time-resolved cross-correlation based approach to assess synchronous dynamics between cortical activity and behavioral performance. The findings herein highlight the practical significance of including analyses of the time domain in workload assessment, in addition to the functional utility of a combination of metrics in the study of the temporally linked cognitive-motor output associated with increased mental workload.

  PublisherDOI

• A Study of Brain Dynamics in Simulated Piloting Tracking Tasks

  2025-05-20

  article

  A study of mental workload and the resultant cognitive-motor behavior is essential to understanding the intrinsic limitations of the human information processing system, the results of which have impact on the design of safety-critical systems. While the effects of increased task demand on mental workload and the quality of cognitive-motor performance has been previously investigated, it remains unclear how system controllability (i.e., expected handling qualities) impacts perceptual workload and performance. Furthermore, traditional EEG spectral metrics lack the temporal specificity to capture dynamic workload. Consequently, the purpose of this experiment was to examine objective brain dynamics, task performance, and subjective ratings during piloting tracking tasks of varying complexity while also challenging participants with different expected levels of handling qualities. Our results revealed a trend suggestive of increasing mental workload related to increased task complexity and varying levels of expected handling qualities. To examine dynamic operator workload with increased temporal fidelity, we introduce a time-resolved cross-correlation based approach to assess synchronous dynamics between cortical activity and behavioral performance. The findings herein highlight the practical significance of including analyses of the time domain in workload assessment, in addition to the functional utility of a combination of metrics in the study of the temporally linked cognitive-motor output associated with increased mental workload.

  PublisherDOI

• The Effect of Left Temporal EEG Neurofeedback Training on Cerebral Cortical Activity and Precision Cognitive-Motor Performance

  Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport · 2024-12-18 · 4 citations

  article

  The findings support the influence of neurofeedback training on cerebral cortical arousal and performance of a precision-aiming task, however, the influence of the neurofeedback on brain dynamics (i.e. alpha power) extended beyond the targeted region as a nonspecific manifestation of cerebral cortical inhibition leading to neural efficiency at the homologous sites.

  PublisherDOI

• An Integrative Assessment of Cognitive-Motor Processes Underlying Mental Workload and Performance Under Varying Levels of Controllability

  Lecture notes in computer science · 2024-01-01

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• A single session of sensorimotor rhythm neurofeedback enhances long-game performance in professional golfers

  Biological Psychology · 2024-07-09 · 8 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• A mental workload and biomechanical assessment during split-belt locomotor adaptation with and without optic flow

  Experimental Brain Research · 2023-06-26 · 2 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Effect of a single session of sensorimotor rhythm neurofeedback training on the putting performance of professional golfers

  Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports · 2023 · 17 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Psychology
  • Physical medicine and rehabilitation

  Sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) activity has been associated with automaticity and flow in motor execution. Studies have revealed that neurofeedback training (NFT) of the SMR can improve sports performance; however, few studies have adequately explored the effects of a single session of such NFT or examined the possible mechanisms underlying these effects on sports performance. This study recruited 44 professional golfers to address these gaps in the literature. A crossover design was employed to determine the order of the participation in the NFT and no-training control conditions. The participants were asked to perform 60 10-foot putts while electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded before and after the tasks. In pre-and post-tests, visual analog scales were used to assess the psychological states associated with SMR activities including the levels of attention engagement, conscious motor control, and physical relaxation. The results revealed that a single NFT session effectively increased SMR power and improved putting performance compared with the control condition. The subjective assessments also revealed that the participants reported lower attention engagement, less conscious control of the motor details and were more relaxed in the putting task, suggesting that SMR NFT promoted effortless and quiescent mental states during motor preparation for a putting task. This study aligns with theoretical hypotheses and extends current knowledge by revealing that a single session of SMR NFT can effectively enhance SMR power and improve putting performance in professional golfers. It also provides preliminary evidence of the possible underlying mechanisms that drive the effect of SMR NFT on putting performances.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• In Memoriam: Daniel M. Landers 1942–2023

  Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · 2023-10-09

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R21AG025505

  NIH · $360k · 2009

Frequent coauthors

• Jeremy C. Rietschel

  34 shared

• Rodolphe J. Gentili

  University of Maryland, College Park

  30 shared

• Amy J. Haufler

  Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

  23 shared

• Thomas W. Spalding

  California State Polytechnic University

  22 shared

• Sean P. Deeny

  Northwestern University

  19 shared

• Stephen M. Roth

  University of Maryland, College Park

  16 shared

• Hyuk Oh

  University of Maryland, College Park

  16 shared

• Matthew W. Miller

  Auburn University

  15 shared

Labs

• University of Maryland KinesiologyPI

Awards & honors

• Research and Service Award, Mid-Atlantic chapter of the Amer…
• Fellow, National Academy of Kinesiology (2004)
• Jerry P. Wrenn Outstanding Service Award, College of Health…
• George F. Kramer Practitioner Award, College of Health and H…
• President, Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter of the American Col…