In a study by gucciardi and dimmock (2008), choking was found to be best explained by the

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Historically, mind studies have been separated from those carried out on the brain and behavior; the mind was still an abstract concept. However, later on, neurosciences and sports psychology have gone further and created a new discipline: sports neurosciences, aimed at exploring the physical and mental confines of an athlete and make them grow more and more. Neurosciences can, therefore, help bring closer psychological and biological areas, cognitive and mechanical structures. Several researches have been done on activation in situations under pressure, imagery (in hypnosis) and electroencephalogram (EEG); however, there is an obvious lack of studies that analyze how to monitor mental training on activation in situations under pressure by means of EEG, both in the office and on the field. Consequently, the objective of the present thesis is to monitor mental training on activation during a neutral situation and in a situation under pressure, by analyzing the heart rate, brainwaves and subjective registrations in athletes with and without previous imagery experience. The pilot test analyzed the heart rate behavior in the activation of 7 athletes during imagery of under-pressure situations. In it, there was an increase in the heart rate in the situations under pressure, which was experienced, mainly, at the moment of highest pressure. From Study 1-A and 1-B neutral situation imagery (tennis service) was compared with imagery of under-pressure situations on 16 tennis players. On the one hand, in Study 1-A the activation during imagery of a neutral situation was monitored through the analysis of the heart rate, brainwaves and subjective registrations of tennis players with and without prior experience in imagery; on the other hand, in Study 1-B activation during imagery was also monitored, although this time in a situation under pressure (tennis match). Results show that imageries from both neutral and under-pressure situations increased the heart rate, especially on those subjects with imagery experience; being this increase higher in the case of imagery of situations under pressure and finding its highest point at the moment of maximum pressure of the imagery: interval 5-6. Regarding brainwaves, imagery of both neutral and under-pressure situations (either by intervals, hemispheres, zones or channels) led to a decrease in the gamma wave activity, both in tennis players with previous experience in imagery and without. In the case of Study 1- B, an increase of the gamma wave was also observed in interval 5-6, which corresponds to the moment of maximum pressure. Regarding entropy, in Study 1-A it was lower in the neutral situation imagery, both in those with imagery experience and without; while in Study 1-B, the approximate and sample entropies were higher in the imagery of the situation under pressure in those without imagery experience. With regards to the subjective registrations, in psychological abilities (activation, self-confidence, motivation and concentration) of Studies 1-A and 1-B there were no significant differences between pre and post neither between before, during and after, except in Study 1-B between pre and post for the activation at during with a significance level of 10%. Regarding the reality of imagery, in Study 1-A the most real dimensions, from highest to lowest, were kinesthetic, visual, emotional, tactile and auditory (score from 3 to 5). Those that were more difficult to be perceived as real and to be aware of were the gustatory and olfactory ones in Study 1-A and only the olfactory in 1-B. In Studies 2-A and 2-B mental training on activation during imagery of an under-pressure situation was monitored through a protocol with and without mental training carried out in the office (Study 2-A) and on the court (Study 2-B) based on the analysis of the heart rate, brainwaves and subjective registrations in a tennis player with high imagery experience in order to be able to see how activation developed, session by session, through the mental training carried out. Results show that both in the office (Study 2-A) and on the court (Study 2-B) the tennis player’s heart rate increased in the imagery of the situation under pressure (I.3-8), being higher in the office and in Protocol 2. It decreased in the mental techniques application imagery (I.8-13) in Protocol 2, being also greater in the office; it decreased further in the final breathing attention (I.13-f), being higher in the office and in Protocol 1. In the case of brainwaves, the beta wave increased in the imagery of the situation under pressure (I.3-8), both in the office and on the court, being higher in the office in Protocol 1 and on the court in Protocol 2. Also, gamma, theta and delta waves increased in Protocol 2 on the court. Beta, gamma, delta and theta waves decreased in the mental techniques application imagery (I.8-13), both in the office and on the court, being higher on the court, except for the gamma wave, which was higher in the office. Alpha and beta waves increased in the final breathing attention (I.13-f), both in the office and on the court, being higher in the office in Protocol 2. Regarding entropy (approximate entropy and sample), it decreased in the imagery of the situation under pressure (I.3-8), both in the office and on the court and both in Protocol 1 and 2, being higher on the court and in Protocol 2. It increased in the mental techniques application imagery (I.8-13) in the office as well as on the court, being higher on the court. It also increased in the final breathing attention (I.13-f), both in the office and on the court, being higher in the office in both protocols but markedly in Protocol 2. Regarding subjective registrations, the tennis player managed to feel the pressure in the imagery of the situation under pressure both in the office and on the court before, during and after between points (highest pressure moment), being higher in Protocol 2. In the mental techniques application imagery he regulated the activation to feel it at an optimal level (7), although he found it more difficult on the court. All imageries were realized with great reality in all dimensions (visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory, kinesthetic and emotional), being the olfactory dimension more difficult to feel in the situation under pressure in the office for both Protocols, and on the court in Protocol 2, and the gustatory one on the court and in Protocol 2. Unexpectedly, it was also more difficult to feel the auditory one in the office in Protocol 1. In the mental techniques application imagery, the gustatory dimension was more difficult to feel both in the office (Study 2-A) and on the court (Study 2-B) and also, unexpectedly, the auditory one on the court. Therefore, the thesis results reflect the importance of monitoring the mental training of activation in situations under pressure; data of great use to improve neutral and under- pressure imagery and mental training in order to help athletes work on their activation. It is also useful to create neurofeedback protocols to increase the ability to perform imagery in athletes with both high and low experience and thus improve their mental training and self-awareness of under-pressure situations in their lives, what causes them, how they experience them and what they must do to deal with them.