Development of the biofeedback mental training system using four different brain potentials

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The purposes of the present research project were a) to develop a biofeedback mental training system using 4 different brain potentials, b) to establish an internet server that allows the distribution of the developed software, and c) to investigate if the effect of biofeedback-metal-training effect was observed after finishing the biofeedback mental training. In the biofeedback training system, the alpha brain waves were used as the index of relaxation, the frontal middle line theta waves (Fm theta wave) as the concentration index, the contingent negative variation (CNV) as the index of imagery, and the stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN) was employed as the index of motivation. In the development of the system, a data acquisition program (analog/digital conversion program) and an analyzing program were written using C++. The internet FTP server for the software distribution was established with MacOS X Server.Regarding the system evaluation, the significant increase of alpha wave was observed after biofeedback mental training. Especially, the power value of alpha waves at the left frontal area was increased after the training compared with that before the training. The CNV amplitude was also increased when the subjects imaged their movements. The SPN as the motivation index showed that it's amplitude was increased when the motivation of the subjects was more increased compared with when the motivation was decreased. On the other hand, the index of concentration, that is the Fm theta, did not show any increase after training. However, the system could clearly detect the increase of the Fm theta when subjects performed some cognitive tasks. The development of task and measuring method will enhance the ability of the biofeedback mental training system.