Abstract
Neurofeedback training has been an increasingly used technique and is taking its first steps in sport. Being at an embryonic stage, it is difficult to find consensus regarding the applied methodology to achieve the best results. This study focused on understanding one of the major methodological issues—the training session frequency. The aim of the investigation was to understand if there are differences between performing two sessions or three sessions per week in enhancement of alpha activity and improvement of cognition; and in case there are differences, infer the best protocol. Forty-five athletes were randomly assigned to the three-session-training-per-week group, the two-session-training-per-week group and a control group. The results showed that neurofeedback training with three sessions per week was more effective in increase of alpha amplitude during neurofeedback training than two sessions per week. Furthermore, only the three-session-per-week group showed significant enhancement in N-back and oddball performance after training. The findings suggested more condensed training protocol lead to better outcomes, providing guidance on neurofeedback protocol design in order to optimize training efficacy.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81901830), the Humanity and Social Science Youth Foundation of the Ministry of Education in China (19YJC190018) and LARSyS—FCT Project (UIDB/50009/2020).
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CD: Conceptualization, Visualization, Writing-Original draft preparation and Investigation. MP: Data curation and Methodology. PP: Writing-Original draft preparation and Software WN: Writing-Reviewing and Editing. AR: Writing-Reviewing and Supervision. JGP: Writing-Reviewing and Supervision.
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Domingos, C., Peralta, M., Prazeres, P. et al. Session Frequency Matters in Neurofeedback Training of Athletes. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 46, 195–204 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-021-09505-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-021-09505-3