EEG neurofeedback improves an archer's score

The summary today

The only controlled trial on archers whose original data can be read goes against the claim. Twenty-four Indian university archers, twelve doing twelve sessions of sensorimotor rhythm neurofeedback over four weeks and twelve doing nothing, shoot a 72-arrow competition at 70 metres before and after: the trained group goes from 527.3 to 529.9 points, the control group from 526.6 to 526.7, and there is no difference between the groups (p = 0.561). The trained signal, on the other hand, does move: the ratio of sensorimotor rhythm to theta rises more than in the controls. A 2024 narrative review paints a more favourable picture, with an early-1990s study of twenty-four pre-elite archers in which correct feedback raises the score and feedback tied to the opposite hemisphere lowers it, but it describes the Indian study as an improvement in accuracy and consistency in twenty-eight archers, which is not what the original paper shows. In the other precision sports the results are mixed: biathletes and ten-pin bowlers do not improve, women darts players do. What can be said today is that neurofeedback changes the signal it trains, not that it raises the score.

Also phrased as: "neurofeedback in archery"; "brain wave training"; "biofeedback with EEG"; "sensorimotor rhythm training"; "neurofeedback and score"

Evidence

• 2012
  Against Archers Published later

  Twenty-four right-handed Indian university archers, 16 men and 8 women with about four years of shooting, split into two groups of twelve: one does twelve neurofeedback sessions over four weeks to raise the sensorimotor rhythm, between 12 and 15 hertz, the other nothing. In the 72-arrow competition at 70 metres the trained group goes from 527.33 to 529.92 points and the control group from 526.58 to 526.67; after the programme the difference between the groups is 3.25 points, p = 0.561. The same goes for the number of Xs: 5.17 before and after in the trained group, from 4.83 to 4.67 in the control group (p = 0.460).

  Effect of sensory motor rhythm neurofeedback on psycho-physiological, electro-encephalographic measures and performance of archery players · Maman Paul, Sathiyaseelan Ganesan, Jaspal Sandhu, Joel Simon

• 2012
  Context Archers Published later

  The trained signal moves: the ratio of sensorimotor rhythm to theta rises from 0.331 to 0.395 in the neurofeedback group, with a difference from the controls after the programme (p = 0.018), while the mean of the sensorimotor rhythm epochs does not change (from 7.14 to 7.54; p = 0.616 between groups). Neurofeedback changes what it trains, but the score does not follow.

  Effect of sensory motor rhythm neurofeedback on psycho-physiological, electro-encephalographic measures and performance of archery players · Maman Paul, Sathiyaseelan Ganesan, Jaspal Sandhu, Joel Simon

• 2012
  Context Archers Published later

  Mean heart rate during competition falls from 116.1 to 113.8 beats per minute in the trained group, but no differently from the control group, which goes from 110.8 to 110.0 (p = 0.277 between groups).

  Effect of sensory motor rhythm neurofeedback on psycho-physiological, electro-encephalographic measures and performance of archery players · Maman Paul, Sathiyaseelan Ganesan, Jaspal Sandhu, Joel Simon

• 2024
  For Review Published later

  A narrative review of neurofeedback in precision sports reports an early-1990s study of twenty-four pre-elite archers split into three groups, with 27 arrows before and after: those receiving feedback tied to more slow activity in the left hemisphere improve, those receiving feedback tied to the right hemisphere get worse, the no-feedback group stays the same, and concentration and confidence change in none of them. It is the only supporting result on archers, and it comes at second hand, from the review's description.

  Improving Mental Skills in Precision Sports by Using Neurofeedback Training: A Narrative Review · Stefano Corrado, Beatrice Tosti, Stefania Mancone, Tommaso Di Libero, Angelo Rodio, Alexandro Andrade, Pierluigi Diotaiuti

• 2024
  Context Review Published later

  The same review reports a study of twenty-eight university archers with twelve sessions over four weeks, reinforcing the sensorimotor rhythm and inhibiting theta, after which it speaks of better accuracy and consistency, with no figures and no control group, and attributes it to the 2012 Indian study. The original paper, however, has twenty-four archers, a control group and no difference in score: the review's account does not match the paper.

  Improving Mental Skills in Precision Sports by Using Neurofeedback Training: A Narrative Review · Stefano Corrado, Beatrice Tosti, Stefania Mancone, Tommaso Di Libero, Angelo Rodio, Alexandro Andrade, Pierluigi Diotaiuti

• 2024
  Against Review Published later

  The review reports twenty-eight elite biathletes, half of them given three hours of neurofeedback to raise frontal midline theta: theta rises during training, but shooting does not improve compared with the control group, with only a small effect on focus; the more experienced athletes raise theta more without raising their score. It is another sport and a second-hand figure.

  Improving Mental Skills in Precision Sports by Using Neurofeedback Training: A Narrative Review · Stefano Corrado, Beatrice Tosti, Stefania Mancone, Tommaso Di Libero, Angelo Rodio, Alexandro Andrade, Pierluigi Diotaiuti

• 2024
  Against Review Published later

  The review reports eleven ten-pin bowlers aged 15 to 21 doing a single fifteen-minute session with a consumer EEG headset and sound feedback, against a group with no intervention: slightly higher scores in the treated group, but no significant difference, either in score or in anxiety. Another sport and a minimal dose.

  Improving Mental Skills in Precision Sports by Using Neurofeedback Training: A Narrative Review · Stefano Corrado, Beatrice Tosti, Stefania Mancone, Tommaso Di Libero, Angelo Rodio, Alexandro Andrade, Pierluigi Diotaiuti

• 2024
  Context Review Published later

  On the other side, the review reports thirty-two women darts players randomly assigned to neurofeedback on theta and sensorimotor rhythm, motor imagery or physical practice, plus a control group: all three interventions improve performance compared with the control. It is the firmest favourable result among the precision sports, but in a movement different from archery.

  Improving Mental Skills in Precision Sports by Using Neurofeedback Training: A Narrative Review · Stefano Corrado, Beatrice Tosti, Stefania Mancone, Tommaso Di Libero, Angelo Rodio, Alexandro Andrade, Pierluigi Diotaiuti

• 2024
  Context Review Published later

  In golf, according to the review, sixty-four novices on three different protocols with six sessions over two weeks do not differ from the controls during learning, are all better the next day and, at two weeks, only those trained on the sensorimotor rhythm and on alpha stay ahead. Neurofeedback would seem to act more on how well the movement stays learnt than on improvement during the sessions.

  Improving Mental Skills in Precision Sports by Using Neurofeedback Training: A Narrative Review · Stefano Corrado, Beatrice Tosti, Stefania Mancone, Tommaso Di Libero, Angelo Rodio, Alexandro Andrade, Pierluigi Diotaiuti

• 2024
  Context Review Published later

  The review also reports two archers in whom eight sessions reduce anxiety on three questionnaires, and concludes that studies on archers since 1991 are few, with samples of two to twenty-eight people, and that randomised controlled trials are needed.

  Improving Mental Skills in Precision Sports by Using Neurofeedback Training: A Narrative Review · Stefano Corrado, Beatrice Tosti, Stefania Mancone, Tommaso Di Libero, Angelo Rodio, Alexandro Andrade, Pierluigi Diotaiuti

Status history

1. 2012 Contradicted The first controlled trial on archers in the registry gives a null result. Twenty-four Indian university archers, twelve doing twelve sessions of sensorimotor rhythm neurofeedback over four weeks and twelve doing nothing: in the 72-arrow competition at 70 metres the trained group gains two and a half points, the control group none, and there is no difference between the groups (p = 0.561); the number of Xs does not move either. The ratio of sensorimotor rhythm to theta, the very signal being trained, rises more than in the controls. A single small study in a regional journal, going against the claim: contradicted.
2. 2024 Contradicted A narrative review of precision sports gathers what exists from 1990 to 2023 and paints a more favourable picture: an early-1990s study of twenty-four pre-elite archers in which correct feedback raises the score and feedback tied to the opposite hemisphere lowers it, and the 2012 Indian study described as an improvement in accuracy and consistency in twenty-eight archers, whereas the original paper has twenty-four archers and no difference. In other sports the results are mixed: biathletes and ten-pin bowlers do not improve, women darts players do, and in golf the advantage shows up later, at retention. The authors themselves call for randomised trials. A review reports at second hand and is not a study: the status stays contradicted, and the favourable study it cites is known only from its description.

Related

Related articles

• EEG and neuroscience in archery: the brain of the elite archerWhat EEG studies on archers show about the best arrows, differences between levels, theta in beginners and neurofeedback, and how far each finding holds.
• Biofeedback and neurofeedback for archers: what changes in the signal and what in the scoreWhat studies show on neurofeedback, heart rate biofeedback, computer training and headsets for archers: the trained signal changes, the score far less.
• The future of archery: technology, research, evolutionWhat has already been measured about technology in archery: virtual reality, sensors, video, the quiet eye, camera scoring and shooting machines.

Research lines

• 52 studiesMental training: what has been tested on archers since 1979
• 48 studiesThe heartbeat and the shot: heart rate and HRV since 1981

Other claims in this domain

• ReportedA larger working memory does not make an archer more accurate3 studies · 79 archers measuredStatus since 2012
• ReportedA longer quiet eye improves shooting accuracy3 studies · 58 archers measuredStatus since 2017
• ReportedA mental profile tells archers apart from athletes in other sports only in part5 studies · 550 archers measuredStatus since 2018
• ReportedA mental training programme improves the elite archer's mood1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023
• ReportedA mental training programme reduces burnout in elite archers1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023

See all claims on mind and attention