Neuroscience-Based Exercise Training in Female Volleyball Players

Volleyball requires high-level cognitive and physical performance, including agility, decision-making, and motor coordination, often performed under time pressure. Neuro-athletic training is an emerging approach that integrates neurofeedback techniques with sport-specific exercises, targeting cognitive and motor functions through neuroplasticity-based principles. This approach aims to improve afferent and efferent neural system coordination, sensory processing, and motor control, which may translate into improved athletic performance and reduced injury risk.

This study investigates the effect of an 8-week neuro-athletic exercise training program on cortical activation, visual attention, decision-making processes, and sport-specific physical fitness in professional female volleyball players, using a randomized, controlled, parallel-group design.

A total of 24 female volleyball players, licensed in the Turkish Volleyball Federation (TVF) Women's Volleyball League 2 and League 3, aged 16-21 years, will be randomly allocated into an intervention group (n=12) and a control group (n=12) using www.randomizer.org. Sample size was determined using G*Power software (independent samples t-test, between-group comparison) with 95% power, 0.05 type-1 error, and a high effect size (f=0.75), with a 20% margin added to account for potential dropout.

The intervention group will receive a structured neuro-athletic exercise training program, 3 days per week for 8 weeks, added to their regular volleyball training as a warm-up component. The program includes eye warm-up exercises (eye massage, palming) and volleyball-specific visual-motor coordination stations: Saccade and Anti-Saccade stations, Smart Optometry station, Brock String, Star Chart station, and Pinhole Glasses Small Area Game. The control group will continue their regular training, warm-up, and cool-down routine without additional intervention. Total training time will be kept equal between groups to prevent differences in overall training load.

All participants will be assessed before the intervention begins and after the 8-week program. Primary assessments include:

Eye-tracking (Pupil Labs Invisible wearable system) to evaluate visual attention, gaze fixation, and visual search strategies during a serve task.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure frontal cortex oxygenated (HbO) and deoxygenated (HbR) hemoglobin levels simultaneously during the same serve task, comparing pre-task, during-task, and post-task signal changes.

Secondary assessments include sport-specific physical fitness parameters:

T-Agility Test (agility, change of direction, coordination), with reaction time recorded via BlazePod integrated lights.

Serve speed, measured using a radar gun (Bushnell Velocity Speed Gun). Vertical jump performance (jump height, peak velocity, landing force), measured using the VERT wearable jump analysis system.

Y-Balance Test (dynamic balance and proprioception). Sit-and-Reach Test (lumbar and hamstring flexibility).

Inclusion criteria

• Licensed female volleyball player in the Turkish Volleyball Federation (TVF) Women's Volleyball League 2 or League 3
• Aged between 16 and 21 years
• Actively participating in the sport for at least 3 years

Exclusion criteria

• Any history of musculoskeletal surgery
• An injury within the last 3 months that prevented participation in training or competition
• Any diagnosed visual impairment, visual function disorder, or vestibular system-related problem