You can have the skills and the experience. You may have trained for thousands of hours. And still, when the pressure rises, success isn’t always guaranteed. Stress, fatigue, uncertainty or cognitive overload can destabilise attention, slow decision-making or make well-rehearsed actions harder to execute. Faced with this challenge, how can neurofeedback improve cognitive performance? That’s what we uncover.
Can neurofeedback improve cognitive performance?
Can neurofeedback support cognitive training? Explore the science behind performance enhancement and Neuromind's brain-state regulation approach.
Overview.
Key takeaways.
Cognitive performance depends on the brain state in which the skills and knowledge are applied.
Under pressure, the brain can shift towards states of over-arousal, fatigue, attentional instability or cognitive overload.
Neurofeedback provides real-time information about brain activity, allowing individuals to practise regulating targeted brain states.
Research has reported benefits in areas including attention, executive functions, memory and sport performance.
Neuromind combines EEG, AI and immersive VR to turn brain-state regulation into an active, measurable and trainable component of performance preparation.
01
What is the purpose of cognitive training?
The mental processes behind performance.
Cognitive training targets the mental processes that allow us to perform effectively [1]:
attention;
working memory;
cognitive flexibility;
inhibitory control;
processing speed;
decision-making.
These functions work together constantly. Working memory allows you to hold relevant information in mind. Inhibitory control helps you ignore distractions or suppress an impulsive response. When the situation changes, cognitive flexibility gives you the means to adapt. Finally, you need attention to keep the right information in focus.
In everyday life, this synergy can translate as following a complex conversation while filtering out background noise. However, high-pressure situations intensify the stakes.
During a decisive penalty or before the kick-off of a sporting competition, an athlete must identify the right signal, ignore public cheers and execute the correct movement. Cognitive training focuses on helping deploy these abilities effectively when the situation demands it.
02
Why does brain state matter for cognitive readiness?
State over skill.
One day you can breeze through a task with ease, while the following morning it feels like a Herculean effort. What changed in between? If your skill set didn’t disappear within a few hours, your state, however, may have shifted.
Vigilance has a cost.
In demanding environments, unpredictable events can arise and disrupt periods of routine activity. In such situations, a high level of vigilance is required to respond appropriately. However, maintaining sustained vigilance requires mental effort that can be experienced as stressful [2].
The brain has to keep allocating resources to monitoring the environment, even when little happens. Over time, that extended effort increases the risk of missed signals or slower responses.
Additionally, prolonged reliance on automated systems can contribute to complacency and reduced monitoring, potentially affecting detection and decision-making [3].
The right level of arousal.
Feeling mentally prepared and ready doesn’t mean being constantly on the alert. The key is to allocate the right brain resources to the task at hand. The Yerkes-Dodson framework proposed an inverted-U relationship between arousal and performance [4].
While modern research has refined this model, the central idea remains useful: performance depends on reaching an appropriate level of activation for the task. Too little activation can make it harder to stay engaged and vigilant. At the other extreme, excessive stress or arousal can interfere with attentional control and more deliberate forms of decision-making.
The locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system plays an important role in regulating arousal and adapting cognitive processing to changing demands [5].
When stress disrupts executive control.
The prefrontal cortex plays a central role in many of the executive functions required for complex performance [1]:
working memory;
cognitive control;
planning;
flexible behaviour.
Under high levels of stress, these systems can become less effective. Arnsten’s work shows how stress signalling can impair prefrontal cortical function and shift behaviour towards more reflexive responses [6]. McEwen and Morrison further describe the vulnerability and plasticity of prefrontal networks under stress [7].
Those results explain why someone can perform exceptionally well in training and struggle in a high-pressure situation.
03
How does neurofeedback support cognitive performance?
A trainable skill.
If you tell someone to concentrate harder, the advice may not get them far. Teaching them to recognise when their attention is stable, when it starts to drift off, and how to regain control gives them skills they can use repeatedly over time.
That is precisely the approach neurofeedback takes. Rather than simply telling someone to relax or focus, it measures brain activity and provides information about what is happening in real time [8].
Neurofeedback creates a feedback loop between brain activity and behaviour: measure → feedback → regulate → adapt → repeat.
What the research shows.
A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis of 41 randomised controlled trials in healthy adults reported an overall improvement in attentional performance following neurofeedback [9].
A separate systematic review and meta-analysis of EEG neurofeedback described promising evidence for executive function enhancement [10].
Memory has also been investigated using specific theta and alpha-based protocols, with meta-analyses reporting improvements in selected working and episodic memory outcomes [11][12].
And the potential extends beyond laboratory cognitive tests. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 studies found a moderate positive effect on sport-related motor tasks, with a Hedges’ g of 0.78 in the meta-analysis of 21 eligible studies [13].
04
Who can benefit from cognitive enhancement?
Beyond the playing field.
If you are in a situation where attention, judgement and decision-making need to remain consistent, regardless of the conditions, cognitive enhancement can be a valuable addition to your toolkit.
This includes athletes preparing for high-pressure competition, but also professionals working in demanding environments where a small lapse in vigilance can have significant consequences.
Pilots, emergency responders, operators, healthcare professionals, military personnel or anyone working in a high-stakes environment may face the same challenge: knowing what to do is not enough if stress, fatigue or cognitive overload makes it harder to do it at the right moment.
The same principle extends to occupational performance, performance recovery and cognitive rehabilitation, as well as to applied neuroscience research.
05
Neuromind: real-time brain-state regulation to perform when it matters most
A new layer of preparation.
Traditional preparation already has powerful tools: physical conditioning, technical practice, mental coaching and exposure to pressure. Neuromind adds another layer by providing real-time information about the brain state in which peak performance is taking place.
Our software platform combines wearable EEG sensors, artificial intelligence and immersive virtual reality in a closed-loop system. We continuously monitor EEG-derived biomarkers associated with arousal, attention and stress. The system uses these signals to understand changes in the user’s brain state in real time and adapts the experience.
The logic.
The logic is:
Sense: we capture brain activity through EEG and derive relevant biomarkers of arousal, attention and stress.
Interpret: we analyse these signals in real time to detect changes in vigilance, cognitive load and stress.
Adapt: the virtual environment responds to the individual’s state, creating a feedback loop between brain activity and the training experience.
Scenario pacing, task complexity and sensory stimulation can be adjusted according to the user’s live brain state, creating a neuroadaptive training environment rather than a fixed VR exercise.
Objective cognitive data.
Neuromind equips coaches, trainers and clinicians with objective cognitive data that complements traditional behavioural measures. This can help distinguish a skill-related error from a performance breakdown associated with overload or unstable attention.
We are actively working towards defining use-case-specific protocols and early-stage validation studies with research and performance partners. If you are interested in teaming up, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Brain training is one of the main areas of interest in performance-oriented neurofeedback. Research in healthy adults has reported improvements in attention, executive function enhancement and sport-related motor tasks.
References
[1] Diamond A. Executive functions. Annu Rev Psychol. 2013;64:135-68. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750. Epub 2012 Sep 27. PMID: 23020641; PMCID: PMC4084861.
[2] Warm JS, Parasuraman R, Matthews G. Vigilance requires hard mental work and is stressful. Hum Factors. 2008 Jun;50(3):433-41. doi: 10.1518/001872008X312152. PMID: 18689050.
[3] Parasuraman R, Manzey DH. Complacency and bias in human use of automation: an attentional integration. Hum Factors. 2010 Jun;52(3):381-410. doi: 10.1177/0018720810376055. PMID: 21077562.
[4] Yerkes, R.M., & Dodson, J.D. (1908). The Relation of Strength of Stimulus to Rapidity of Habit Formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology & Psychology, 18, 459-482. doi.org/10.1002/cne.920180503
[5] Aston-Jones G, Cohen JD. An integrative theory of locus coeruleus-norepinephrine function: adaptive gain and optimal performance. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2005;28:403-50. doi: 10.1146/annurev.neuro.28.061604.135709. PMID: 16022602.
[6] Arnsten AF. Stress signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009 Jun;10(6):410-22. doi: 10.1038/nrn2648. PMID: 19455173; PMCID: PMC2907136.
[7] McEwen BS, Morrison JH. The brain on stress: vulnerability and plasticity of the prefrontal cortex over the life course. Neuron. 2013 Jul 10;79(1):16-29. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2013.06.028. PMID: 23849196; PMCID: PMC3753223.
[8] Sitaram R, Ros T, Stoeckel L, Haller S, Scharnowski F, Lewis-Peacock J, Weiskopf N, Blefari ML, Rana M, Oblak E, Birbaumer N, Sulzer J. Closed-loop brain training: the science of neurofeedback. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2017 Feb;18(2):86-100. doi: 10.1038/nrn.2016.164. Epub 2016 Dec 22.
[9] Kimura I, Noyama H, Onagawa R, Takemi M, Osu R, Kawahara JI. Efficacy of neurofeedback training for improving attentional performance in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Imaging Neurosci (Camb). 2024 Jan 5;2:imag-2-00053. doi: 10.1162/imag_a_00053. PMID: 40800414; PMCID: PMC12224457.
[10] Viviani G, Vallesi A. EEG-neurofeedback and executive function enhancement in healthy adults: A systematic review. Psychophysiology. 2021 Sep;58(9):e13874. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13874. Epub 2021 Jun 12. PMID: 34117795; PMCID: PMC8459257.
[11] Yeh WH, Ju YJ, Liu YT, Wang TY. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Neurofeedback Training of Theta Activity on Working Memory and Episodic Memory in Healthy Population. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Sep 3;19(17):11037. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191711037. PMID: 36078752; PMCID: PMC9517899.
[12] Yeh WH, Hsueh JJ, Shaw FZ. Neurofeedback of Alpha Activity on Memory in Healthy Participants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Jan 5;14:562360. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.562360. PMID: 33469422; PMCID: PMC7813983.
[13] Yu CL, Cheng MY, An X, Chueh TY, Wu JH, Wang KP, Hung TM. The Effect of EEG Neurofeedback Training on Sport Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2025 May;35(5):e70055. doi: 10.1111/sms.70055. PMID: 40270441; PMCID: PMC12019780.
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