Psychophysiological strategies for enhancing performance through imagery-skin conductance level analysis in guided vs. self-produced imagery.

Athletes need to achieve their optimal level of arousal for peak performance. Visualization or mental rehearsal (i.e., Imagery) often helps to obtain an appropriate level of activation, which can be detected by monitoring Skin Conductance Level (SCL). However, different types of imagery could elicit different amount of physiological arousal. Therefore, this study aims: (1) to investigate differences in SCL associated with two instructional modalities of imagery (guided vs. self-produced) and six different scripts; (2) to check if SCL could differentiate respondents according to their sport expertise. Thirty participants, aged between 14 and 42 years (M = 22.93; SD = 5.24), with different sport levels took part in the study. Participants listened to each previously recorded script and then were asked to imagine the scene for a minute. During the task, SCL was monitored. We analysed the mean value, variance, slope and number of fluctuations per minute of the electrodermal signal. Unsupervised machine learning models were used for measuring the resemblance of the signal. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for distinguishing guided and self-produced imagery, and The Mann-Whitney U test was used for distinguishing results of different level athletes. We discovered that among others, self-produced imagery generates lower SCL, higher variance, and a higher number of fluctuations compared to guided imagery. Moreover, we found similarities of the SCL signal among the groups of athletes (i.e. expertise level). From a practical point of view, our findings suggest that different imagery instructional modalities can be implemented for specific purposes of mental preparation.

Exploring the influence of personal factors on physiological responses to mental imagery in sport.

Imagery is a well-known technique in mental training which improves performance efficiency and influences physiological arousal. One of the biomarkers indicating the amount of physiological arousal is skin conductance level (SCL). The aim of our study is to understand how individual differences in personality (e.g. neuroticism), general imagery and situational sport anxiety are linked to arousal measuring with SCL in situational imagery. Thirty participants aged between 14 and 42 years (M = 22.93; SD = 5.24), with sport experience ranging between 2 and 20 years (M = 10.15; SD = 4.75), took part in our study. Participants listened to each previously recorded script and then were asked to imagine the scene for a minute. During the task SCL was monitored using the Biofeedback Expert 2000. Machine learning predictive models based on artificial neural networks have been trained for prediction of physiological response, as a function of selected psychological tests. We found an association among neuroticism, prestart anxiety, and general tendency to use imagery with SCL. From a practical point of view our results may help athletes, coaches, and psychologists to be more aware of the role of individual differences in sport.

Neural Oscillation During Mental Imagery in Sport: An Olympic Sailor Case Study.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the cortical correlates of imagery depending on instructional modality (guided vs. self-produced) using various sports-related scripts. According to the expert-performance approach, we took an idiosyncratic perspective analyzing the mental imagery of an experienced two-time Olympic athlete to verify whether different instructional modalities of imagery (i.e., guided vs. self-produced) and different scripts (e.g., training or competition environment) could differently involve brain activity. The subject listened to each previously recorded script taken from two existing questionnaires concerning imagery ability in sport and then was asked to imagine the scene for a minute. During the task, brain waves were monitored using EEG (32-channel g. Nautilus). Our findings indicate that guided imagery might induce higher high alpha and SMR (usually associated with selective attention), whereas self-produced imagery might facilitate higher low alpha (associated with global resting state and relaxation). Results are discussed in light of the neural efficiency hypothesis as a marker of optimal performance and transient hypofrontality as a marker of flow state. Practical mental training recommendations are presented.