A first study on soccer goalkeepers’ covert attention

Having high covert attention abilities is essential for athletes, especially in team-games where one has to focus on the ball but sill be able to process what is happening in their peripheral field of view. In this project we aim at investigating the neurophysiological correlates of covert attention in soccer goalkeepeModifications on-going…rs in order to propose new kinds of training procedures, based on neurofeedback. We recruited 18 soccer goalkeepers, from the lowest (D5) to the highest (Ligue1) levels of the French Championship. We asked them to perform a covert attention task while we were measuring their EEG activity. We managed to replicate the results from the literature by showing a lateralised increase of alpha-power ipsilateral to the target. In order to determine if this pattern was relevant to be used for a neurofeedback training procedure, we investigated whether or not it was measurable on a single-trial basis. We also looked for relationships between this marker and goalkeepers performance/expertise. You can find more details in the attached papers!

C. Jeunet, Tonin, L., Albert, L. et al. Uncovering EEG Correlates of Covert Attention in Soccer Goalkeepers: Towards Innovative Sport Training Procedures. Sci Rep 10, 1705, 2020 – pdf
C. Jeunet, L. Tonin, L. Albert, R. Chavarriaga, B. Bideau, J. d. R. Millán, A. Lécuyer, R. Kulpa, “Towards an EEG-BCI based covert visual attention training procedure for soccer goalkeepers“, BCI Meeting, 2018 – pdf / poster
C. Jeunet, B. Bideau, F. Argelaguet, R. Chavarriaga, J. del R. Millán, A. Lécuyer & R. Kulpa, “Investigating neurophysiological correlates of covert attention in soccer goalkeepers”, World Conference on Science and Soccer (WCSS) 2017 – pdf

What is next?

Regarding the soccer goalkeepers, we would like now to design a neurofeedback (NF) training procedure in order to train them to self-regulate specific EEG markers of covert attention, and assess the influence that this training has on their performance on the field.

I am also very much interested in BCI-based Motor Imagery (MI) training. MI is practiced by most of the athletes. Nonetheless, only little is known about the conditions of a successful MI training. Using BCIs, we could compare the EEG activity of people with different levels of MI expertise and thereby find EEG markers that could be used in a NF training procedure to optimise the efficiency of MI !

I am looking for a Master student on this topic, approx. from February to June 2021. You will find more details on the Job Opportunities section of this blog.

# Job Opportunity: Master Internship on “motor imagery training to improve athletic performance”

C. Jeunet, B. Glize, A. McGonigal, J.-M. Batail, J.-A. Micoulaud-Franchi, “Using EEG-based Brain Computer Interface and Neurofeedback Targeting Sensorimotor Rhythms to Improve Motor Skills: Theoretical Background, Applications and Prospects”, accepted in Neurophysiologie Clinique / Clinical Neurophysiology (NCCN) – pdf