Understanding EEG & brainwave frequencies

Severalstudies(Crews,Martin,Hart,&Piparo, 1991;Hatfieldetal,, 1984;Landers et al., 1991;Salazar, Landers, Petruzzello, Han, Crews, & Kubitz, 1990)have used left- hemisphere biofeedback training in precision sports like archery, shooting, and golf. These studies suggest that biofeedback training can improve athlete performance, but usually w

EEG biofeedback could affect athletic performance, specifically in target sports such as shooting, archery, and golf. For example, Hatfield, Landers, and Ray (1984) reported that as shooters prepare to shoot, there is a marked shift from left to right hemispheric activation. Crews (1991) found that for golf performance, the greater left-to-right he

The electroencephalogram, or EEG, is a complex bioelectric signal that reflects the functional status of large pools of cortical neurons and their modulation by subcorti- cal regulatory influences

The basic idea underlying intention is that increased levels of power in the alpha band are associated with less utilisation of retinal feedback in oculomotor and asso- ciated control. In other words, when alpha levels are high in sport settings, it is likely that the individual is controlling movements through reference to a stored model or intern

Forexample,theathlete may hear a tone, the presence of which indicates the Occurrence of EEG alpha ac- tivity of 20 pV or greater. He may recognize that whenever this tone appears, he coincidentally experiences a relaxed, “idling” mental state where he is not thinking a b o u t a n y t h i n g i n p a r t i c u l a r . By s u s t a i n i n g t h i

The EEG appears to contain four major frequency bands: beta (above 13 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), theta (4-7 Hz), and delta (0.5-3.5 Hz). An EEG is not useful for determining specific brain functions, but for discerning more general states of arousal, which are identified as: delta: deep sleep; theta: periods of dreaming: alpha: relaxed awareness; beta:

The human brain produces a continuous output of minute electrical signals. The

magnitude of these signals is so small that it is measured in microvolts (FV), or millionths of a volt. However, the signals can be accurately detected and recorded. To do this, the signals must first be picked up by electrodes attached to the surface of the scalp and the

One of the most robust findings in sport psychophysiology, at least from a group data perspective, is the association between left hemisphere alpha (8- to 13-Hz activity from sites on the left of the brain) and good performance in a variety of sports, including target sports (e.g. shooting: Hatfield, Landers, & Ray. 1984; archery: Landers, Petr

T3 and C3’ (temporal and central sites on the left side of the head) are both close to two well-established areas of the cerebral cortex known to be involved in dialogue, namely Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area (see Kolb & Wishaw, 1995).Self- talk in these circumstances is usually associated with negative emotion-the athlete talking to him- or