This study looks at whether a 24-week neurofeedback training program called Play Attention can help adolescent weightlifters pay better attention and lift better. Neurofeedback is a computer-based training method that shows people real-time information about their own brain activity, so they can learn to control it. In this study, adolescent weightlifters take part in the Play Attention program over 24 weeks. Researchers measure the athletes' attention skills and weightlifting performance before and after the program to see whether the training made a difference. The goal is to find out if this kind of brain-training program could be a useful tool to help young athletes focus better and perform better in their sport.
This is an extended pilot quasi-experimental study examining the effects of a 24-week Play Attention neurofeedback training program on attention and weightlifting performance in adolescent weightlifters. Play Attention is a neurofeedback-based cognitive training system that uses real-time monitoring of attention-related physiological signals, combined with interactive software tasks, to help users develop self-regulation of attentional control. Participants undergo the Play Attention protocol over a 24-week period, integrated alongside their regular weightlifting training. Attention-related outcomes are assessed using standardized measures administered before and after the intervention period, and weightlifting performance is evaluated using sport-specific performance metrics recorded at the same time points. As a quasi-experimental design, the study does not employ randomized group allocation; comparisons are made using pre-post measurement within the study cohort. The rationale for the study is that attentional control is a key component of technical execution and consistency in weightlifting, and that neurofeedback training targeting attention may translate into measurable improvements in both cognitive and sport performance outcomes in adolescent athletes, a population in which this type of intervention has been understudied.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
10
A commercially available neurofeedback-based attention-training system combining software with a wearable BodyWave armband, an interface unit, and Bluetooth connectivity. Participants in the experimental group completed 40 training sessions (approximately 30-40 minutes each) over 24 weeks, in addition to their routine Olympic weightlifting training. The system provides real-time visual and auditory feedback based on attention-related signal activity during game-like cognitive exercises. It is a non-clinical, non-diagnostic system; no scalp EEG was independently recorded in this study.
Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University Faculty of Sport Science
Center, Eyalet/Yerleşke, Turkey (Türkiye)
Change in selective and sustained attention measured by the d2 Test of Attention
The d2 Test of Attention (Brickenkamp) is a paper-and-pencil test of selective and sustained attention and concentration. Participants scan 14 lines of 47 characters each (658 items in total) and cross out every letter "d" marked with two dashes, within a 20-second limit per line. The score used for this outcome is Concentration Performance (CP), calculated as the total number of items processed minus the total number of errors. CP ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 658. Higher scores indicate better attention performance. The test will be administered at baseline and at the end of the 24-week intervention.
Time frame: Baseline and Week 24
Change in snatch one-repetition maximum (1RM), measured in kilograms
The snatch 1RM is the maximum weight, in kilograms, that a participant can lift successfully in a single snatch attempt. Values are recorded in kilograms, with a minimum of 0 kg and no fixed upper limit. Higher values indicate better weightlifting performance. The test will be administered at baseline and at the end of the 24-week intervention.
Time frame: Baseline and week 24
Change in clean and jerk one-repetition maximum (1RM), measured in kilograms
The clean and jerk 1RM is the maximum weight, in kilograms, that a participant can lift successfully in a single clean and jerk attempt. Values are recorded in kilograms, with a minimum of 0 kg and no fixed upper limit. Higher values indicate better weightlifting performance. The test will be administered at baseline and at the end of the 24-week intervention.
Time frame: Baseline and week 24
Change in weightlifting total (sum of snatch and clean and jerk 1RM), measured in kilograms
The weightlifting total is the sum of the best successful snatch and the best successful clean and jerk attempts, in kilograms. Values have a minimum of 0 kg and no fixed upper limit. Higher values indicate better weightlifting performance. It will be assessed at baseline and at the end of the 24-week intervention.
Time frame: Baseline and week 24
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