sLoreta Neurofeedback Targeting Attention Networks in Table Tennis Athletes Modulates Neural Connectivity and Enhances Visual-Spatial Attention

The aim of this study was firstly to identify alpha band EEG sources playing a functional role in the performance differences between elite and amateur table tennis players use of visuo-spatial cues to guide response selection. EEG was recorded from 206 elite and amateur table tennis athletes from across the International Table Tennis Federation. EEG was obtained during eyes closed (EC) and eyes open rest (EO) and during a 4-minute video task (VT). The VT was filmed from the player’s perspective to simulate match-play against a top 100 world ranked player. Participants imagined playing against the on-screen player. Players also completed a visuo-spatially cued version of the Go-NoGo continuous performance task (vsCPT). eLORETA compared EEG source activity between an age and gender matched sample of 16 elite and 16 amateur players. Activity at maximal source differences was then correlated with behavioural vsCPT performance measures. EEG source differences between elite and amateur players reached a maximum between 10.50 and 11.75 Hz (upper alpha) in the VT condition with loci in right BA6 (supplementary motor area, sensory selection for motor control) and right BA13 (insula cortex, salience detection). Source activity estimates correlated significantly with superior processing speed and perceptual sensitivity under increased processing demands on the vsCPT. Upper alpha synchronisation in right BA6 and right BA13 when actively processing an opponents’ match specific motion is greater in elite than amateur players and indicates superior visuo-spatial guided response selection. Secondly, we sought to use Neurofeedback (NFB) training, a form of operant conditioning based on reward-learning, to produce measurable changes in the efficiency of visual spatial attention networks within a group of aspiring elite table tennis athletes within an associated region of interest, right BA40. The relationship of learning during sLoreta NFB (sLNFB) training to a strengthening of connectivity in the targeted cortical network was measured by the EEG activity of fifteen adolescent table tennis players. A learning index was used to establish a relationship between sLNFB training, learning, and post-sLNFB EEG. A motor decision (Go-NoGo) task was undertaken pre- and post-NFB training to determine if changes in cortical activity translated to improved visuo-spatial cued motor control performance. Results indicated significant changes in cortical activity in regions related to visuo-spatial and motor processing in addition to regions directly related to learning. Increased response inhibition accuracy on Go-NoGo task was strongly and significantly correlated to post NFB changes in brain activity. We concluded that the current sLNFB protocol changes cortical activity throughout functionally connected nodes of task-relevant networks. Furthermore, some of these changes are directly related to behavioural performance enhancement depending on cognitive processing within these networks. The findings provide support for sLNFB training as a tool for enhancing visuo-spatial and motor processing performance in aspiring elite table tennis players.