The effect of neurofeedback training on the alerting and orienting attentional networks and the dart-throwing skill performance of novices in conditions of state-competitive anxiety

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of neurofeedback training on the alerting and orienting attentional networks and dart-throwing skill performance in novices in competitive state anxiety conditions. The present research was of a semi-experimental type, with a pre-test-post-test design with an experimental and control group.Twenty girls (age: 23.10 ± 2.48 years) participated in this study and were divided into two neurofeedback training and control groups. The pre-test included the test of attentional networks and dart-throwing in conditions of state-competitive anxiety. Then all the participants practiced three sessions every week for a total of fourteen sessions. The neurofeedback group did neurofeedback training (increasing SMR wave and decreasing theta and increasing alpha) and dart-throwing exercise, and the control group only did dart-throwing exercise. 48 hours after the last training session, the post-test (the same as the pre-test) was held. The results showed a significant difference in the efficiency of the alerting and orienting network and the dart-throwing skill performance between the neurofeedback training group and the control group. Based on the results, it can be said: Neurofeedback training improves the efficiency of alerting and orienting the attentional network by reducing anxiety and creating an optimal level of arousal. In general, these findings support the effect of neurofeedback training on the neural mechanisms of the alerting and orienting attentional networks, and showed that following the improvement of attention processes, the performance in dart-throwing skill improves.