Abstract
Neurofeedback based on bioelectrical activity of the brain can serve as an additional means of sports training. However, its effect on the body of athletes is not fully understood. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effect of a neurofeedback course on high-level athletes based on maximal oxygen uptake and haemodynamics. Materials and methods. A placebo-controlled study of the effects of a neurofeedback course was conducted, involving 102 high-level athletes of both sexes (mean age 20.2 ± ± 1.8 years) with mean levels of spectral power of heart rate variability in the VLF, LF, and HF ranges. The main group included 69 subjects, the placebo control group, 33 subjects. The neurofeedback course included 15 sessions and was performed according to the protocol of increasing alpha power in the C3A1 lead. Results. Statistically significant effects of the neurofeedback course, exceeding the placebo effect, were established: a decrease in diastolic blood pressure and an increase in pulse pressure (PP). Diastolic blood pressure was characterized by an absolute decrease of 2.0 mm Hg in the main group and 0.7 mm Hg in the placebo group, while pulse pressure, by an absolute increase of 1.5 and 0.4 mm Hg, respectively. Moreover, statistically significant changes resulting from the neurofeedback course were identified, which, however, did not exceed the placebo effect: an increase in the mean value of the relative maximal oxygen uptake by 0.30 ml/(min∙kg) in the main group and by 0.46 ml/(min∙kg) in the placebo group; a decrease in the mean heart rate (HR) by 1.5 and 0.7 min–1, respectively, and a decrease in the mean value of the double product index by 1.9 and 1.1, respectively, without any statistically significant differences between the groups. The neurofeedback course and placebo did not produce statistically significant changes in systolic blood pressure, PP x HR coefficient, and autonomic Kérdö index.
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