NeuroTrainer Research & Science Labs

SCIENCE

NeuroTrainer Research & Science Labs

We bring neuroscience out of the lab and into the locker room.

Developed in partnership with the National Science Foundation, NeuroTrainer combines neuroscience and virtual reality, effectively overriding the visual, auditory and proprioceptive systems. This creates a fully immersive experience customized for optimal peak performance.

Vision and action guide focus.

NeuroTrainer’s visual tasks improve hand-eye coordination, decision making speed, and the ability to track objects in an expanded field of view. It stimulates both sides of the brain, creating an environment of agitation, reward and focus that naturally releases a sequence of neurochemicals to optimize for long-term learning and skill acquisition.

Athletic & Human Performance Research

3D-Multiple Object Tracking training task improves passing decision-making accuracy in soccer players

The ability to perform a context-free 3-dimensional multiple object tracking task has been highly related to athletic performance. In the present study, we assessed the transferability of a perceptual-cognitive 3D-MOT training from a laboratory setting to a soccer field, a sport in which the capacity to correctly read the dynamic visual scene is a prerequisite to performance.

Romeas, Guldner, Faubert Psychology of Sport and Exercise

The Relationship Between Expertise and Visual Search Strategy in a Racquet Sport

The visual search characteristics of 15 expert and 16 novice badminton players were recorded as they performed a test of anticipatory cue usage. Experts were able to pick up earlier advance information than novices.

Bruce Abernethy, David G. Russell Human Movement Science

Executive Functions Predict the Success of Top-Soccer Players

While the importance of physical abilities and motor coordination is non-contested in sport, more focus has recently been turned toward cognitive processes important for different sports. However, this line of studies has often investigated sport specific cognitive traits, while few studies have focused on general cognitive traits. We explored if measures of general executive functions can predict the success of a soccer player. In the first cross-sectional part of the study we compared the results between High Division players (HD), Lower Division players (LD) and a standardized norm group. The result shows that both HD and LD players had significantly better measures of executive functions in comparison to the norm group for both men and women. Moreover, the HD players outperformed the LD players in these tests. In the second prospective part of the study, a partial correlation test showed a significant correlation between the result from the executive test and the numbers of goals and assists the players had scored two seasons later. The results from this study strongly suggest that results in cognitive function tests predict the success of ball sport players.

Torbjörn Vestberg, Roland Gustafson, Liselotte Maurex, Martin Ingvar, Predrag Petrovic PLOS One

Sensorimotor abilities predict onfeld performance in professional baseball

Baseball players must be able to see and react in an instant, yet it is hotly debated whether superior performance is associated with superior sensorimotor abilities. In this study, we compare sensorimotor abilities, measured through 8 psychomotor tasks comprising the Nike Sensory Station assessment battery, and game statistics in a sample of 252 professional baseball players to evaluate the links between sensorimotor skills and on-field performance. For this purpose, we develop a series of Bayesian hierarchical latent variable models enabling us to compare statistics across professional baseball leagues. Within this framework, we find that sensorimotor abilities are significant predictors of onbase percentage, walk rate and strikeout rate, accounting for age, position, and league. The pattern of results suggests performance contributions from both visual-sensory and visual-motor abilities and indicates that sensorimotor screenings may be useful for player scouting.

Kyle Burris, Kelly Vittetoe, Benjamin Ramger, Sunith Suresh, Surya T. Tokdar, Jerome P. Reiter & L. Gregory Appelbaum Scientific Reports (Nature)

How do we learn to ‘‘kill” in volleyball?: The role of working memory capacity and expertise in volleyball motor learning

This study examines young volleyball players’ learning of increasingly complex attack gestures. The main purpose of the study was to examine the predictive role of a cognitive variable, working memory , in the acquisition and development of motor skills in a structured sport. The expertise of each athlete was assessed in terms of years of practice and number of training sessions per week. The participants were 120 volleyball players, aged between 6 and 26 years, who performed both working memory tests and practical tests of volleyball involving the execution of the ‘‘third touch” by means of technical gestures of varying difficulty. The results pointed to a very clear dissociation. On the one hand, Working Memory capacity was the best predictor of correct motor performance, and a specific capacity threshold was found for learning each attack gesture. On the other hand, experience was the key for the precision of the athletic gestures. This evidence could underline the existence of two different cognitive mechanisms in motor learning. The first one, relying on attentional resources, is required to learn a gesture. The second one, based on repeated experience, leads to its automatization.

Elisa Bisagno, Sergio Morra Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

Athletics Evidence

How the brain contributes to sports performance

SEE THE GAME

Peripheral Vision / Blind Spots / Visual Search

Peripheral vision makes up 97% of our visual field. Athletes must effectively see across a very large visual field without blind spots. NHL player Justin Florek completed 4 weeks of the NeuroTrainer program and became 44% quicker in his visual search ability to find a target in a cluttered environment. These studies corroborate this benefit. There is now high-quality evidence that a task like NeuroTrainer is capable of altering a range of visual skills.

Green, S. & Bavelier, D. (2003). Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.

Faubert, J. (2013). Professional Athletes have extraordinary skills for rapidly learning complex and neutral dynamic visual scenes. Scientific Reports, 3: 1154.

Deveau, J., Ozer, D., & Seitz, A. (2014). Improved vision and on-field performance in baseball through perceptual learning., Current Biology 24(4): R146-147.

Fiorentini, A. & Berardi, N. Perceptual learning speciﬁc for orientation and spatial frequency. Nature 287, 43–44 (1980).

Poggio, T., Fahle, M. & Edelman, S. Fast perceptual learning in visual hyperacuity. Science 256, 1018–1021 (1992).

Ahissar, M. & Hochstein, S. The spread of attention and learning in feature search: effects of target distribution and task difﬁculty. Vision Res. 40, 1349–1364 (2000).

READ AND RECOGNIZE

Short-Term Visual Memory / Decision-Making

Quick, accurate choices are perhaps the hallmark ability of a good athlete. The mental building blocks of this ability are specific “muscle groups” in the brain. Elite athletes are highly practiced, which frees up mental resources for better anticipation and decision making during game play. But even the best players make errors during game play because the mental demands become too much. The solution is to make the mental processes highly practiced and automated as well. A recent study with Division I Hockey players showed NeuroTrainer improved speeded decision making. Eight players from the Northern Michigan University Hockey Team trained with NeuroTrainer three times a week for 2 weeks. A before and after measurement of speeded decision making showed an average improvement of 15 milliseconds.

Haywood, K., (1984). Use of the image-retina and eye-head movement visual systems during coincidence, anticipation, performance. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2(2), 139 – 144.37431.

Hodges, N.J., Smeeton, N.J., Ward, P., Williams, A.M., (2005). The relative effectiveness of various instructional approaches in developing anticipatory skill. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 11 (2), 98 – 110.

Mori, S., Ohtani, Y., Imanaka, K. (2002). Reaction times and anticipatory skills of karate athletes. Human Movement Science, 21 (2), 213 – 230.

ANTICIPATE AND ACT

Visual Imagery / Multi-Tasking

Also called “coordination”, this is the ability to pre-process and then co-process information. Multi-tasking is fundamental to athletic performance. In fact, professional athletes have superior multi-tasking abilities. Elite athletes need less anticipatory time, which increases time available to make decisive decisions.

Haywood, K., (1984). Use of the image-retina and eye-head movement visual systems during coincidence, anticipation, performance. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2(2),139 – 144.

Hodges, N.J., Smeeton, N.J., Ward, P., Williams, A.M. (2005). The relative effectiveness of various instructional approaches in developing anticipatory skill. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 11 (2), 98 – 110.

Mori, S., Ohtani, Y., Imanaka, K. (2002). Reaction times and anticipatory skills of karate athletes. Human Movement Science, 21 (2), 213 – 230.

The NeuroTrainer system demands multi-tasking on several neurocognitive tasks which challenge the prefrontal cortex to plan and organize cognitive and perceptual processes in order to be fast and efficient. Nyquist, J., Lappin, J., Zhang, R. & Tadin, D. (2016). Perceptual training yields rapid improvements in visually impaired youth. Scientific Reports 6, 37431.

QUICKNESS

Reaction Time / Speed of Processing

Did you know that reaction time is made of 3 processes? It requires visual processing, then information processing and finally a physical response. Two athletes with the same reaction time may have very different speed in each of the three components.

BE IN THE MOMENT

Focus / Mental Endurance

Every function listed above requires mental resources. The athlete must be able to deploy mental attention to these abilities. NeuroTrainer exercises attentional capacity and mental endurance. These studies shows improvements from training tasks that use a subset of the NeuroTrainer technology.

Parsons, B., Magill, T., Boucher, A., Zogbo, K., Scheffer, O., Beauregard, M., & Faubert, J. (2016). Enhancing cognitive function using perceptual-cognitive training. Clinical EEG and Neuroscience, 47(1), 37-47.

Green, S. & Bavelier, D. (2003). Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.

Green, S. & Bavelier, D. (2006). Effect of Action video games on the spatial distribution of attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 32(6), 534-531465-1478.

Fast-paced attention (brain blinks)

Much as your eye blinks, so does your brain. It is called an attentional blink by scientists. This study improved “brain blinks” using FPS video games, which have features in common with NeuroTrainer. Green, S. & Bavelier, D. (2003). Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.

Baseball-Specific Research

This study examined perceptual learning and task demands. Results showed improved vision, decreased strike-outs, and more runs. Deveau, J., Ozer, D., & Seitz, A. (2014). Improved vision and on-field performance in baseball through perceptual learning., Current Biology 24(4): R146-147.

Soccer-Specific Research

Skilled soccer players anticipate opponent movements and actions, and are superior to novices in pattern recall and strategic awareness in team sports. Williams, M.A. (2000). Perceptual skill in soccer: implications for talent identification and development. Journal of Sports Sciences, 18(9), 737–750

Elite soccer players are defined by their ability to process relevant perceptual cues and enhanced search strategies. Mann, D.T., Williams, A.M., Ward, P., & Janelle, C.M. (2007). Perceptual-cognitive expertise in sport: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 29(4), 457–478.

Playing experience is not enough to be a great athlete. Perceptual/cognitive skills matter. Vaeyens, R., Lenoir, M., Williams, A.M., Mazyn, L., & Philippaerts, R.M. (2007). The effects of task constraints on visual search behavior and decision-making skill in youth soccer players. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 29(2), 147–169.

Willams, M.A., Hodges, N.J., North, J.S., Barton, G. (2006). Perceiving patterns of play in dynamic sport tasks: investigating the essential information underlying skilled performance. Perception, 35(3), 317-32.

Hockey-Specific Research

Evidence suggests an athlete’s sports-related perceptual-cognitive expertise is a crucial element of top-level competitive sports. Faubert, J. (2013). Professional Athletes have extraordinary skills for rapidly learning complex and neutral dynamic visual scenes. Scientific Reports, 3: 1154

Perceptual-cognitive abilities

Perceptual-cognitive abilities provide an athletic edge. Garland, D.J., & Barry, J.R. (1990). Sport expertise: The cognitive advantage. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 70(3), 1299–1314.

The difference between elite and sub-elite athletes is less physiological and more mental. Ripoll, H. (1991). The understanding-acting process in sport: The relationship between semantic and sensorimotor visual function. International Journal of Sport Psychology,22, 221-243.

Mann, D.T., Williams, A.M., Ward, P., Janelle, C.M. (2007). Perceptual-cognitive expertise in sport: a meta-analysis. Journal of Sport Exercise Psychology, 29(4), 457-78.

Perception and Action Connection

Perception and action are crucial for elite sports. Williams, M.A., Davids, K., & Williams, J. (Eds.). (1999). Visual perception and action in sport. London: Routledge.

The Science of NeuroTrainer’s Task

A key component of NeuroTrainer is multiple object tracking (MOT). MOT is an extremely effective way to exercise many components of the SEE-THINK-ACT continuum. This task requires users to track several independently moving targets while ignoring distractor objects. This task emulates the demands placed on vision, perception and attention during athletic game play. As you can see below, this task provides powerful activation of various brain regions. This image is from an fMRI study which demonstrates increased neural activity in both the parietal lobe (the crown of the head) and the occipital lobe / visual cortex (the back of the head) during an MOT task.

Howe, P., Horowitz, T., Morocz, I., Wolfe, J., Livingstone, M. (2009). Using fMRI to distinguish components of the multiple object tracking task Journal of Vision. 2009;9(4):10. doi:10.1167/9.4.10

Jovicich, J. Peters, R. J. Koch, C. Braun, J. Chang, L. Ernst, T. (2001). Brain areas specific for attentional load in a motion-tracking task. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 13, 1048–1058.

Vision Evidence

Visual Functioning

Vision can be impaired for many reasons, but the brain has the ability to improve visual functioning regardless of many of these causes. Our published training study shows improvements in the functions that drive vision. These functions include the ability to find what we are looking for, wake up our dormant peripheral vision, detect motion better, and use strategies that more effectively process visual information. Our published study shows rapid improvements in only 3 weeks!

Nyquist, J., Lappin, J., Zhang, R. & Tadin, D. (2016). Perceptual training yields rapid improvements in visually impaired youth. Scientific Reports 6, 37431

The brain’s role in vision

Perception is much more than vision. Perception is where attention and vision meet. There is now high-quality evidence that a task like NeuroTrainer is capable of altering a range of visual skills.

Green, S. & Bavelier, D. (2003). Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.

Fiorentini, A. & Berardi, N. Perceptual learning speciﬁc for orientation and spatial frequency. Nature 287, 43–44 (1980).

Poggio, T., Fahle, M. & Edelman, S. Fast perceptual learning in visual hyperacuity. Science 256, 1018–1021 (1992).

Ahissar, M. & Hochstein, S The spread of attention and learning in feature search: effects of target distribution and task difﬁculty. Vision Res. 40, 1349–1364 (2000).

General Brain Training Evidence

Fast Attention

Green, S. & Bavelier, D. (2003). Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.

Focus and distraction control

NeuroTrainer exercises attentional capacity and distraction control. These studies shows improvements from training tasks that use a subset of the NeuroTrainer technology.

Green, S. & Bavelier, D. (2003). Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.

Green, S. & Bavelier, D. (2006). Effect of Action video games on the spatial distribution of attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 32(6), 534-531465-1478.

Situational awareness

Peripheral vision makes up 97% of our visual field. NeuroTrainer trains the brain to take the blinders off and make or “Spotlight” of Attention become a “Floodlight”. Several studies below show effects from training with FPS video games, which use components of NeuroTrainer.

Nyquist, J., Lappin, J., Zhang, R. & Tadin, D. (2016). Perceptual training yields rapid improvements in visually impaired youth. Scientific Reports 6, 37431.

Green, C.S., and Bavelier, D. (2007). Action-video-game experience alters the spatial resolution of vision. Psychol Sci 18, 88-94.

Green, S. & Bavelier, D. (2006). Effect of Action video games on the spatial distribution of attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 32(6), 534-531465-1478.

Green, S. & Bavelier, D. (2003). Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.

Crundall, D., & Underwood, G. (1998). Effects of experience and processing demands on visual information acquisition in drivers. Ergonomics 41:448–458.

Quicker Decisions. Better Decisions

Practice frees up mental resources for better anticipation and speeded decision making. Practice of mental processes helps as well.

Haywood, K., (1984). Use of the imageretina and eye-head movement visual systems during coincidence, anticipation, performance. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2(2), 139 – 144.

Mori, S., Ohtani, Y., Imanaka, K. (2002). Reaction times and anticipatory skills of karate athletes. Human Movement Science, 21 (2), 213 – 230.

Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking is fundamental to our daily life. The Neurotrainer system demands multi-tasking on several neurocognitive tasks which challenge the prefrontal cortex to plan and organize cognitive and perceptual processes in order to be fast and efficient.

Nyquist, J., Lappin, J., Zhang, R. & Tadin, D. (2016). Perceptual training yields rapid improvements in visually impaired youth. Scientific Reports 6, 37431.

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SCIENCE