French S.N. Electromyographic Biofeedback for Tension Control during Fine Motor Skill Acquisition

Biofeedback and Self-Regulation, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1980The presence of residual muscular tension has been implicated as a
detrimental influence on the performance and learning of motor skills. A
method for reducing muscular tension has been provided by the advent of
biofeedback training. This study investigated the effects of tension-control
training by electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback on learning and performance
of the pursuit-rotor backing task. Thirty young adult males were pretested
for pursuit-rotor (PR) tracking skill, ranked by performance scores,
and divided into identical triplicates to form two experimental groups and a
control group. After a total of 3 hours of EMG biofeedback training for the
experimental groups, all subjects were reevaluated on the PR test. One
experimental group received biofeedback during the posttests. Analysis of
variance of pretest-posttest difference means and t tests of scores representing
performance and tension indicated that the EMG biofeedback training
(1) significantly reduced tension induced by the novel motor skill and (2)
significantly improved performance of the motor skill. Transfer of tensioncontrol
training was shown to facilitate learning and performance more
than direct EMG biofeedback during performance. Residual tension
reduction during learning was particularly facilitated by EMG biofeedback
training, a profound implication for the management of stress in a variety
of situations.