PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

The brain and the behavior are interconnected. To study the superior performance, a fundamental approach is to get the insight into what happens in the brain during the performance. In this dissertation, the focus is to investigate the missing link between the psychomotor efficiency hypothesis and the electroencephalography (EEG) activity.

Psychomotor efficiency hypothesis denotes that the adaptive cortical processes, developed by the expertise, leads to superior performance. The primary goal of this dissertation is to find out the specific EEG index, which reflects the crucial cortical processing in the psychomotor performance, to provide the evidence on establishing an ideal neurofeedback training for sports performance enhancement.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the theoretical backgrounds regarding the relationship between cortical activities and superior sports performance. An introduction of the relevant theories is given to address the unresolved questions between the cortical activities and psychomotor efficiency hypothesis in the superior performance. Then, further missing links are pointed out to explain the rationale of the following studies, especially the candidate EEG index, the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR), and the expected outcomes when applying the SMR for the neurofeedback training.

Chapter 2 explores the first evidence on the missing link between the sensorimotor rhythm and superior performance in sports. An overall introduction and discussion on a cross-sectional study between expert dart-throwers and novices on dart-throwing performance are provided. The expert dart-throwers demonstrated a higher activity on the SMR power before releasing the dart when compared to the novices. This main result shed light on the connection of SMR and the psychomotor efficiency hypothesis in precision sports performance.

Chapter 3 provides further insights into the detailed accounts of the intra-individual difference in SMR power in air-pistol shooting performance. A study was conducted to investigate the SMR power between the personal best and worst air-pistol shooting performance during the preparation period in pre-elite shooters. The results exhibited that the best shooting performance was related to significant higher SMR power compared to the worst shooting performance during the preparation period. Also, the connectivity of the cortical information processing was reduced during the preparation period of the best shooting performance compared to the worst shooting performance. This study suggests that the activity of the SMR is sensitive on psychomotor performance. Hence, the SMR may serve as the training target for the EEG neurofeedback training on sports performance enhancement.

Chapter 4 further investigated the potential application of the EEG neurofeedback training on golf putting performance. An EEG neurofeedback intervention with pre-elite golfers was carried out to investigate the beneficial effects of the augmentation on SMR power. The pre-elite golfers received eight sessions of training, and they demonstrated an improved putting performance after the neurofeedback training. In contrast, the pre-elite golfers in the control group did not show the improvement after a pseudo neurofeedback training. The results indicate the positive effects of augmented SMR neurofeedback training on precision sports performance.

Chapter 5 summarizes the key findings of the studies and several recommendations for future studies are provided. In particular, the suggestions for establishing a general EEG neurofeedback training protocol in sports performance enhancement are provided.

In sum, the theoretical contributions of the present work elaborated the link between the signature cortical activities and its indication to the psychomotor efficiency hypothesis. From an applied perspective, the current work calls for establishing an ideal protocol for future EEG neurofeedback training research in sports performance enhancement.