-Second part-
Goals of psychology applied to sport
One of the tasks most commonly entrusted to the sports psychologist is to help the athlete to develop strategies aimed at obtaining voluntary control over specific biological functions. In the history of psychology applied to sports, therefore, multiple strategies for the regulation of activation have been suggested (Williams , 1993) and the BFB is one of the most effective in facilitating the learning of self-regulation of activation.From a first evaluation, interventions with the BFB seem in fact to be more suitable precisely for the "therapeutic targets" made up of high-level athletes who, during their daily training, are used to continuously evaluate their physical performance and, for this reason reason, pay attention to the feedback immediate. Against them, the BFB can therefore be successfully applied to the systematic learning of the psychoregulatory process, since it is essentially built on what the athletes are already used to. For this reason, the applications of BFB to sport have been extensively examined by researchers, who have recognized the great potential offered by psychophysiology for understanding and improving athletic performance. (see Sandweiss and Wolf, 1985; Zaichkowsky and Fuchs, 1988, 1989). Most of these researchers have investigated the positive effects of BFB in reducing performance anxiety, although others have also examined the use of BFB to increase muscle strength, to reduce pain and fatigue, to increase flexibility. and to regulate the heart rate.
Data, effects and procedures
In the field of sport, some modalities of BFB have been used such as electromyograph (EMG), skin temperature (TEMP), skin galvanic response (GSR), heart rate (HR) and electroencephalogram (EEG). Among these, BFB training with EMG, GSR and HR has been used mostly for the purpose of improving the performance of athletes in various sports through psychoregulation (Landers 1988; Petruzzello, Landers, & Salazar, 1991). Recently , the researchers' interest in BFB applied to sport has been directed towards the "identification of the psychological conditions associated with the best performance, especially in" closed skill "sports (Collins, 1995); however, the changes in the physiological dimensions of the activation states of athletes using the BFB still arouse great interest in sports coaches, athletes and psychologists (Zaichkowsky and Takenaka, 1993). Using the BFB (Atlas m-8600) Blumenstein, Bar-Eli and Tenenbaum have studied the effects of autogenic training , of imagery and music training on physiological indices and athletic performance. Basically, the three procedures of psychoregulation, relaxation (lowering the activation) and activation (giving energy or "psyching-up", see Zaichkowsky and Takenaka, 1993), were administered, in combination with the BFB, in an experimental design with 39 college students, to examine their effects on both physiological variables and athletic performance. Physiological indices were HR, EMG, and GSR and breath rate (fb), while performance was assessed based on an athletic task ( sprint -100 meters). The result of this study indicated that the BFB has a significant "increase effect" on both the physiological components and the athletic performance especially when accompanied by the TA and the Imagery. It has been noted that soft music, compared to other relaxation techniques, is rather devoid of beneficial effects. The greatest relaxation effect was obtained from the TA and the strongest activation effect from the Imagery, both associated with the BFB. From a practical point of view, these results indicate that, when a mental training program should be suggested to athletes , the sports psychologist should use a combination of these techniques (TA with EMG or GSR - BFB with or without Imagery, music, etc.), which maximizes the positive results of each program. To respond to competition pressure, sports psychologists have often applied transactional stress models (Rotella and Lerner, 1993). In each model, athletes' perceptions of physiological or emotional reactions vary depending on the situation and potential stress induced by the competition environment. For example, Meichenbaum's stress administration training defines a wide range of treatments that consider both the capabilities of coping cognitive than physiological ones. Meinchenbaum provides various ways of administering stress which, first, involve a combination of skills coping that the individual can master and use if he needs to cope with stressful situations. Secondly, they allow subjects to be taught to find adaptive information on their own to cope with stressors. Specific self-affirmation sessions are developed to prepare to the stressor, confront and become familiar with it, facing the feeling of being overwhelmed and reinforcing the self-affirmations capable of facilitating a coping effective.
Preparation for the competition
Stress training and similar transactional procedures would seem to be particularly applicable to athletes: self-instruction training may include skills and strategies aimed at self-affirmation, as well as instruction aimed at concentration and attentional processes. Consistent with these conclusions and their research, Blumenstein, Tenenbaum, Bar-Eli, and Pie defined the principles of a two-stage procedure for preparing athletes for competition. The procedure is based on the use of the computerized BFB and video recording equipment (VCR), combined with relaxation and / or activation techniques in order to simulate the sensations of racing situations. During the first stage, the athlete is introduced to the BFB device and learns how to consciously control his psychophysiological responses. In the second stage he learns to voluntarily modify his own activation levels and to maintain this state for as long as he wishes. This self-regulation Activation is used to enhance the mental images of the competition, practiced before or after the competition.
Application phases
The mental preparation program essentially translates into guiding the athlete through the situations of gradually increasing complexity that characterize 5 successive phases. In the sessions that follow one another in the breaks between competitions and training, the same athlete must start over each time with a shortened version of phases 1 and 2, to refresh his knowledge and update it to the changed situation, to then proceed more or less quickly to phases 3-5. The 5-phase approach (Tables 2 and 3) is divided into sessions whose time limits they are flexible and individually established and includes: 1. Introduction - learning self-regulation techniques (TA, Imagery, BFB Training), in 15 sessions in a laboratory setting. 2. Identification - habituation to the BFB modalities, identification of the athletes who have shown to respond more sensitively to the BFB modalities during the 15 sessions. 3. Simulation - training in a laboratory setting with simulated competition stress (VCR simulation), in 15 sessions. 4. Transformation - application of mental training to practice (from the laboratory to the field), in 15 sessions on the field. 5. Implementation - implementation of the techniques within a real competition, to achieve optimal self-regulation in the competition on average in 10 sessions .
Effects of the interventions
An analysis of the sports psychology literature revealed how a variety of approaches to mental training that also used biofeedback techniques were used with athletes. The applications of the BFB have been discussed in multiple studies. In particular, BFB electromyography (EMG) has been commonly used to reduce anxiety states and consequently to improve performance. Recently, the effects of autogenic training (relaxation), mentalimagery (arousal) and music training have been studied separately. that together with the BFB. The study revealed that the mental techniques associated with the BFB led to a significant increase in the physiological indices associated with the emotional state of the athlete. For example, HR, EMG, GSR, and Fb (respiratory rate) are increased during autogenic training, when listening to soft music, or when combining both. Blumenstein and others have used EMG and BFB to sharpen the emotional state of the body. athlete. This method has been applied both in the laboratory and in training conditions and has proved to be very useful in directing the athlete towards their own person-specific mental state (Table 4). It was also found that the combination of relaxation with "imagery training" enables the athlete to reproduce an adaptive behavior, based on previous stressful situations (events), and to choose appropriate reactions. The interpretations of the video recordings and the analysis of technical and tactical actions, associated with psychophysiological indices, allow to improve the physical (motor) performance in response to the various behaviors of the opponents both in combat sports and in other disciplines.
Research in sports psychology has shown that structured interventions to develop the athlete's ability to cope effectively with stressful situations usually result in improved performance. Some of the research conducted on the use of biofeedback has examined three cognitively oriented procedures. : TA, IT and M. The positive effects of the first two procedures on athletic performance have been repeatedly demonstrated in the literature, particularly for imagery (Howe, 1991). It should be noted that imagery has also been used in combination with other techniques. For example, on video-motor behavior enhancement (VMBR), imagery and relaxation were used together to reduce anxiety and improve performance. Similarly, combinations of imagery and relaxation were used to improve performance in Karate practice. Krenz conducted a series of case studies, examining the use of AT for relaxation, with experienced and inexperienced tennis players and gymnasts. From the reports of athletes and coaches, he concluded that in various cases such training improves the ability to manage anxiety and concentration. Many variations of the TA have been used to improve the performance of even high level athletes in real competitions. Typically, the BFB is considered an important tool for stress management and control, but difficulties have been encountered in demonstrating a direct relationship between BFB and performance. Some studies indicate that the use of BFB produces a decrease in stress levels and self-determined stress in athletes and that these variables are not necessarily correlated.
Mechanism of action of the BFB
It would seem that the knowledge of the BFB data, through the excitatory visual stimulation, modifies the rhythm of the impulses in the Autonomous System, the transpiration of the skin (as detected by the GSR), the respiratory rhythm and possibly the muscle tone, as emerges from the measurements of the EMG. The information about the biological state of the individual provided by the BFB reinforces his responses at the somatic level, as a result of cognitively oriented mechanisms. In this way the subject can receive gods feedback connected to the results of both its actions and its performance. Some feedback seem to have greater effects on motor performance, acting as a reinforcement that contributes solely to the facilitation of the learning process, through the rapid identification of the training and its effectiveness or ineffectiveness. BFB has also been used, generally in conjunction with other stress management procedures, to help people improve their psychological health and change associated behaviors in other areas than sports and training.
The effectiveness of the BFB
In the long run, effective use of BFB and stress management requires the individual to substantially change the subjective assessment of behavior to improve their ability to cope with stress. Changes in physiological states should therefore be accompanied by adequate changes in mental-emotional state, in line with the basic psychophysiological foundations underlying the use of the BFB. However, to discover these psychological changes, relatively long training periods and very long measurements are needed. In fact, the task specificity of psychological treatment, especially with BFB, can contribute to the improvement of task performance and is therefore essential to exert a positive influence on the individual's ability to cope effectively with stress. In short, the treatment must be focused on the specific task to be performed. This principle is in line with the Theory of Action, according to which an effective self-regulation process requires that the individual subjectively defines and actively addresses the situations that arise. always keeping in mind the characteristics eristics specific to the task to be performed. Similar ideas have emerged in the literature on BFB, particularly within a framework of cybernetic models that describe the neurological and psychological principles that oversee the use of BFB and its association with other stress management procedures used to improve performance.
