Effect of Neurofeedback and Motor Training on Acquisition and Consolidation of Procedural Motor Performance

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of neurofeedback (NFB) and motor training (MT) on the learning and consolidation of procedural motor performance in novice adolescents. 44 elementary students (mean age 12.1 ±0.6), who had no access to smart devices, were selected as the sample of the research, and then were randomly assigned into four groups; NFB, MT, NFB+MT and control. The implementation of the study included six stages: first baseline, pre-test, intervention (NFB included a 30 minute single-session of alpha suppression on the C4 region for NFB and NFB+MT groups. MT by using 6 blocks of Pursuit Rotor Task (PRT) for NFB+MT and MT groups), secondary baseline, post-test and consolidation test, respectively. Stages 1-5 were done in one day but last stage (learning consolidation test) was conducted 48 hours after the rest period. Participants were right-handed and performed PRT in inverted mode with their non-dominant hand. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyses the data. The results showed significantly different between the performance of NFB and MT (P=0.010), NFB and NFB+MT (P=0.044), MT and Control (P=0.022) groups, but the difference between MT and NFB+MT (P=1.000), NFB+MT and Control (P=0.90), and NFB and Control (P=1.000) groups was not significant. The present findings showed that the alpha suppression in C4 had no significant effect on learning and consolidation of unfamiliar and non-automatic movements in novice adolescents but motor training can be an effective way for these people in the first stage of their learning.