Procedural Motor Learning Facilitation and Consolida-tion by Neurofeedback

The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of neurofeedback training to facilitate the acquisition and procedural motor learning of a new task. The population of this research was all male students in Urmia University (2014-2015) from which 47 (mean age; 23.20±1.96) were selected as available sample and were randomized into four groups; (NFB MPL, N=12), (NFB, N=11), (MPL, N=12), (control, N=12). Subjects were right-hand dominant and performed the pursuit rotor task in an inverted mode with their non-dominant (left) hand. Motor procedural learning was measured as performance increment on pursuit rotor task across trail blocks on the same day and consolidation was evaluated following a 24-hour rest. The neurofeedback protocol includes activating of the right primary motor cortex and suppression of Mu rhythm (8–12 Hz) c4 in a single session for 30 minutes. The analysis of variance with repeated measures showed that compared with other groups, neurofeedback training of (NFB MPL) group had significantly more effects on motor procedural learning, but no significant durable effect on learning. Generally, the results showed that a single session of NFB immediately after individual training sessions caused facilitation of performance and learning and acceleration of the early acquisition of a motor procedural task.