Impact of a Single Alpha Neurofeedback Session on Working and Visuospatial Memory in Football Players: A Comparison of Defenders and Attackers.

IF 2.4 3区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback Pub Date : 2025-07-26 DOI:10.1007/s10484-025-09731-z

Hasan Belghadr, Faezeh Alipisheh, Masoud Esmaeilnejad, Hassan Gharayagh Zandi

{"title":"Impact of a Single Alpha Neurofeedback Session on Working and Visuospatial Memory in Football Players: A Comparison of Defenders and Attackers.","authors":"Hasan Belghadr, Faezeh Alipisheh, Masoud Esmaeilnejad, Hassan Gharayagh Zandi","doi":"10.1007/s10484-025-09731-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Working memory (WM) and visuospatial memory (VSM) are pivotal for rapid decision-making and effective teamwork in football. This study investigated the effects of a single-session alpha neurofeedback training (NFT) protocol at Pz on WM and VSM in 48 male players (aged 18-28), with a detailed analysis focusing on playing position, including both defenders and attackers, who were randomly assigned to either the NFT (n = 24) or sham (n = 24) groups. The NFT group received a 25-min eyes-closed session to boost Peak Alpha Frequency (PAF) (7.5-12.5 Hz), while the sham group received non-contingent feedback. WM was assessed using an n-back task, and VSM was measured via a Football Memory Block-Tapping Test (FMBT). The NFT group showed significantly greater improvements in NCR-L1, NCR-L2 (WM), and FRS (VSM) than the sham group (p < 0.05), whereas no significant differences were found in RTs during the WM task or in BRS during the VSM task (p > 0.05). Moreover, defenders outperformed attackers on certain WM and VSM measures, potentially reflecting the distinct demands of their positions. These findings suggest that even a brief alpha NFT session may enhance certain cognitive functions in football players, providing a practical and time-efficient approach that may contribute to improvements in memory performance, with variations observed across different positional roles.</p>","PeriodicalId":47506,"journal":{"name":"Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-025-09731-z","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Working memory (WM) and visuospatial memory (VSM) are pivotal for rapid decision-making and effective teamwork in football. This study investigated the effects of a single-session alpha neurofeedback training (NFT) protocol at Pz on WM and VSM in 48 male players (aged 18-28), with a detailed analysis focusing on playing position, including both defenders and attackers, who were randomly assigned to either the NFT (n = 24) or sham (n = 24) groups. The NFT group received a 25-min eyes-closed session to boost Peak Alpha Frequency (PAF) (7.5-12.5 Hz), while the sham group received non-contingent feedback. WM was assessed using an n-back task, and VSM was measured via a Football Memory Block-Tapping Test (FMBT). The NFT group showed significantly greater improvements in NCR-L1, NCR-L2 (WM), and FRS (VSM) than the sham group (p < 0.05), whereas no significant differences were found in RTs during the WM task or in BRS during the VSM task (p > 0.05). Moreover, defenders outperformed attackers on certain WM and VSM measures, potentially reflecting the distinct demands of their positions. These findings suggest that even a brief alpha NFT session may enhance certain cognitive functions in football players, providing a practical and time-efficient approach that may contribute to improvements in memory performance, with variations observed across different positional roles.

查看原文本刊更多论文

单次α神经反馈对足球运动员工作和视觉空间记忆的影响：防守者和攻击者的比较。

工作记忆（WM）和视觉空间记忆（VSM）是足球运动中快速决策和有效团队合作的关键。本研究调查了48名18-28岁的男性球员（18-28岁）在Pz进行的单次α神经反馈训练（NFT）对WM和VSM的影响，并详细分析了他们的比赛位置，包括防守者和攻击者，他们被随机分配到NFT组（n = 24）或假组（n = 24）。NFT组接受25分钟的闭眼治疗，以提高峰值α频率（PAF）（7.5-12.5 Hz），而假手术组接受非偶然反馈。WM通过n-back任务进行评估，VSM通过足球记忆块敲击测试（FMBT）进行测量。NFT组NCR-L1、NCR-L2 （WM）、FRS （VSM）的改善明显高于假手术组（p 0.05）。此外，防御者在某些WM和VSM指标上的表现优于攻击者，这可能反映了他们所处位置的不同需求。这些发现表明，即使是短暂的alpha NFT会话也可能增强足球运动员的某些认知功能，提供了一种实用且省时的方法，可能有助于改善记忆表现，不同位置角色的差异也会有所不同。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

5.30

自引率

13.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback is an international, interdisciplinary journal devoted to study of the interrelationship of physiological systems, cognition, social and environmental parameters, and health. Priority is given to original research, basic and applied, which contributes to the theory, practice, and evaluation of applied psychophysiology and biofeedback. Submissions are also welcomed for consideration in several additional sections that appear in the journal. They consist of conceptual and theoretical articles; evaluative reviews; the Clinical Forum, which includes separate categories for innovative case studies, clinical replication series, extended treatment protocols, and clinical notes and observations; the Discussion Forum, which includes a series of papers centered around a topic of importance to the field; Innovations in Instrumentation; Letters to the Editor, commenting on issues raised in articles previously published in the journal; and select book reviews. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback is the official publication of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback.