What is visual anticipation and how much does it rely on the dorsal stream ?

The present commentary addresses the function of visual anticipation in ball sports, redefines the concept of anticipation, and examines the theoretical consequences of the redefinition. Visual anticipation has traditionally been defined as the ability to predict a forthcoming event from incomplete cues. In this commentary, however, anticipation is defined as the ability to use prospective information scaled in units of maximum action capabilities. It is argued that the latter definition more faithfully reflects the challenges faced by sportsmen in situ. Also, the definition proposed in this commentary emphasizes the importance of dorsal steam functioning, whereas the traditional definition has often led visual anticipation to be related to ventral stream functioning. In line with this redefinition, it is argued that part of the functioning generally attributed to the ventral stream should in fact be attributed to the dorsal stream, even though expertise in ball sports should eventually be characterized by the interacting contributions of the dorsal and ventral streams. Keywords Prospective control – Action-scaled information – Dorsal stream – Ventral stream – Visual anticipation – Affordance – Law of control