Key result
Neurofeedback training fails to improve shooting performance or theta power over regular training alone.
Why the study?
Frontal midline theta power has been associated with superior rifle shooting performance, but whether electroencephalographic-based training could increase it, shooting performance, and attentional focus was unclear.
Does neurofeedback training improve frontal midline theta power, shooting performance, and attentional focus in highly trained biathletes?
RCT (n=28)
Pair-matched
Does neurofeedback training improve frontal midline theta power, shooting performance, and attentional focus in highly trained biathletes?
p-value: p=>0.05
Neurofeedback training in elite biathletes produces transient increases in frontal midline theta power but does not translate to significant improvements in shooting performance.
No performance gains in elite biathletes caution against routine neurofeedback use; leaves open whether refined protocols could enhance attention in future trials.
Frontal midline theta power (FMT) has been associated with superior rifle shooting performance. Our experiment examined whether electroencephalographic-based training could increase FMT, shooting performance, and attentional focus in highly trained/elite biathletes. Participants (n = 28; age, M = 21.7, SD = 2.3) were assigned to a control group or an intervention group (with 3 hr of neurofeedback training). FMT increased from baseline during the neurofeedback training sessions (p ≤ .05). However, there were no Group × Pre–post training (test) interactions for FMT or shooting performance (p > .05). There was a small Group × Test effect for attentional focus (p = .07, ), indicating a potential benefit of neurofeedback training. Superior shooters were more proficient at increasing FMT during neurofeedback training, but this did not translate to greater improvements in shooting performance. Our findings suggest that the effects of neurofeedback training are transient and do not necessarily benefit performance.
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Toolis et al. (2023) conducted an RCT in Healthy biathletes (n=28). Neurofeedback training vs. Regular training only was evaluated on Pre- to post-test changes in frontal midline theta power (FMT) and shooting performance (p=>0.05). Neurofeedback training increased frontal midline theta power during training but did not significantly improve pre- to post-test changes in shooting performance or frontal midline theta power compared to regular training alone.
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