Effect of Individual Features of the CNS on Efficiency of Relaxation Biofeedback Training in 9- to 10-Year-Old Children

Abstract

The possibilities of biofeedback training for improvement of the self-control of the functional state (relaxation) were studied in 9- to 10-year-old children. At the first stage, under conditions of electrophysiolog- ical experiment, relaxation shifts were assessed in the cycle quiet wakefulness-relaxation-recovery of the ini- tial state by autonomic (skin resistance) and EEG (spectra and coherence) indices. The children were then trained to control their functional state with a computer game including a feedback loop by skin temperature. After the training cycle, children were repeatedly examined in electrophysiological experiment with the instruc- tion to control their state. Comparative analysis of self-induced relaxation changes before and after a successful training course revealed greater shifts of skin resistance and an increase in the number of distant functional con- nections (especially, in the intermediate and high-frequency EEG α subbands), with a significantly increased coherence level during relaxation. A correlation was found between the efficiency of self-regulation training and some individual psychophysiological characteristics (simple motor reaction time, autonomic coefficient, resting EEG). Low efficiency of self-control training was observed in younger schoolchildren with a sharply deviant (from the mean group values) reaction time and autonomic coefficient, as well as with EEG manifesta- tions of functional immaturity of the upper brain regulatory structures. The dependence of the EEG changes on the self-regulation strategy is discussed on the basis of obtained evidence and data in the literature.