تاثير روش آموزشي نوروفيدبك بر تقويت توانايي حل مسيله و عملكرد تحصيلي دانش‌آموزان پايه اول تا ششم دوره ابتدايي

The Effect of Neurofeedback Training on the Enhancement of Problem Solving Ability and Academic Performance Among the Elementary School Students

هدف از پژوهش حاضر بررسي تاثير روش آموزشي نوروفيدبك بر تقويت توانايي حل مسيله و عملكرد تحصيلي دانش‌آموزان دوره ابتدايي بود. بدين منظور از طرح آزمايشي پيش‌آزمون با گروه كنترل استفاده گرديد. جامعه آماري پژوهش، كليه دانش‌آموزان ابتدايي شهر اصفهان بودند. به منظور انتخاب نمونه ابتدا دو دبستان (دخترانه و پسرانه) به روش تصادفي انتخاب و سپس از بين دانش‌آموزان اين دو دبستان، تعداد 40 نفر از دانش‌آموزان پايه هاي اول تا ششم به تصادف در دو گروه آزمايش و كنترل قرار گرفتند. ابزار اين پژوهش عبارت از مقياس عملكرد تحصيلي و آزمون حل مسيله برج لندن بود. نتايج تحليل كواريانس نشان داد كه در پايان آزمايش بين دو گروه از نظر نمرات حل مسيله تفاوت معناداري وجود ندارد اما گروه آزمايشي از نظر نمرات زمان طراحي و زمان اجراي حل مسيله عملكرد بهتري در مقايسه با گروه كنترل دارد.. همچنين نوروفيدبك بر ابعاد عملكرد تحصيلي مانند موفقيت تحصيلي، كنترل تكانه و توليد تحصيلي تاثير معناداري دارد. اين يافته‌ها نشان داد كه آموزش نوروفيدبك يعني خودتنظيمي تدريجي امواج بتا و سركوب ساير امواج در نواحي تمپوراپاريتال چپ و راست (در نقاط C3 و C4) موجب تغيير مطلوب نمرات دانش‌آموزان در خرده‌مقياس‌هاي عملكرد تحصيلي و كاهش زمان طراحي و زمان اجراي حل مسيله مي‌شود اما در اين پژوهش تاثيري بر مجموع نمرات پاياني حاصل از حل 12 مسيله برج لندن ايجاد نشد.

Introduction Psychological interventions for mental disorders are commonly validated for their clinical rather than biological effects. However, it is increasingly recognized that a better understanding of the neural changes accompanying successful psychotherapy may have considerable benefits. For example, if we are able to identify pathological activation patterns in relation to psychiatric symptoms, and if these patterns normalize after intervention, we may use this information in the development of new treatment protocols targeting the functional correlates of specific brain networks. To take the matter one step further, we might even be able to target these pathological networks directly through neurofeedback (Linden, 2006). Several decades of feedback research with EEG signals have shown that participants can be trained to influence the amplitude or topography of specific components of scalp electric activity (Birbaumer et al., 2006). However, it has been very difficult to influence specific mental states or treat psychiatric disorders with EEG-based neurofeedback, probably because of its low spatial specificity and difficulties associated with the poor signal to noise ratio provided by single trial based EEG. Electroencephalographic (EEG) brain activity has been demonstrated to be responsive to operant and classical conditioning. This technique has been called EEG biofeedback and more recently neurofeedback. The development of computer technologies has been advanced, and now it is affordable and convenient for private setting providers to access software and hardware that can be used for conditioning the EEG. The aim of present study is to investigate the effects of neurofeedback training on the problem-solving ability and the academic performance of elementary school students. Research hypotheses 1. Neurofeedback method is effective for improving the problem solving skills of elementary school students. 2. Neurofeedback method is effective for improving academic performance of elementary school students. Method The statistical population of this study consisted of all the students in grade 1 to 6 at five education areas in Isfahan. To select the participants, first, two elementary schools (girls and boys) were randomly selected and then 40 students were selected from these two schools, and were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The students of the experimental group were taught on the basis of neurofeedback instruction for 30 30-minute sessions in 10 weeks, but the control group received nothing except ordinary education at school. For the experimental group, in the first 15 sessions the beta band frequency (14-20 Hz) was the increasing reinforced bandwidth and (1-13 & 21-30 Hz) was the suppressed bandwidth at the site C3 in left hemisphere. In the second 15 sessions, the beyond beta band frequency (12-15) or SMR was changed as reinforced bandwidth at the site C4. The instruments of the research consisted of a Wechsler IV (Wechsler, 2003), the Tower of London Test (Shallic, 1982) and Academic Performance Rating Scales (DePaul et al, 1991). The validity and reliability of all these instruments were confirmed. The data were analyzed by covariance analysis. Results The results of covariance analysis showed no significant difference between problem solving scores of both groups, but there was a significant difference between the experimental and control group on the scores of design-time and run-time of problem-solving (P < 0.001). Also, the effect of neurofeedback was confirmed on academic performance dimensions such as academic success, impulse control and education production (P < 0.001). Discussion and Conclusion Taken together, our study demonstrates that neurofeedback can be a powerful tool in research on the functional relevance of neural synchrony in cognitive processes. This study showed that neurofeedback training means self-regulation of beta waves and suppression in other areas around the left and right temproparietal (C3 and C4) leads to desired changes in student outcome measures at subscales of academic performance and also reduces design time and run time when problem solving. Neurofeedback training strengthens the executive functions such as ability of planning, goal setting and problem solving by enhancing the brain neural networks. Brain imaging studies showed that Tower of London Test involved ventrolateral frontal cortex and mid-dorsolateral frontal cortex; hence neurofeedback training in these points leads to improved skills which can be (are) evaluated with Tower of London Test. Keywords: neurofeedback, problem-solving, design time, run time, academic performance, students.