---
title: Brain Waves and Basketballs
date: 2024-10-24T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/brain-waves-and-basketballs"
section: Articles
---
# Brain Waves and Basketballs

*October 24, 2024* — by [John Tucker](/author/john-tucker)


> UMD Researcher Delves Into Neuroscience of Sinking Free Throws

*EEG Cap Basketball MT 09242024 DS 3417 1920x1080 — The author lines up a free throw, visualizing the ball swishing through the net, while Ph.D. student Kiersten Janjigian (right) observes his brain activity on a computer. Below, Janjigian and lab assistant Rachel Gunter apply a gel to the author’s scalp to amplify the electrical activity underneath it, with the status of the electrodes shown on a computer screen.*

As I gripped a basketball at the foul line, I tried not to think about the 30 electrodes attached to my skull. I was nervous, but that’s what made me a good subject for a research project now underway in the School of Public Health’s gym.

Kiersten Janjigian, a certified mental performance consultant and fourth-year University of Maryland doctoral student, is leading volunteers in a visualization technique while they shoot two rounds of 25 free throws. It’s previously shown itself to be effective. She wants to know *why—*hence the equipment she was using to get inside my head.

In her coaching practice, Janjigian incorporates neurofeedback, an increasingly popular tool for elite athletes seeking to elevate their games. Trainers create an environment that mimics competition, jacking up their stress with an upsetting video of them performing poorly, for example. Then they use electroencephalographic (EEG) technology that measures brain activity to reveal areas for improvement, like concentration or relaxation.

“The mental side of training is a really important puzzle piece that connects to physical training,” she said. “It can give athletes that 1% edge.”

Janjigian envisions high schoolers and collegians incorporating neurocognitive training into their regimens, provided it becomes affordable. Among her research questions: What does an athlete’s brain look like under intense stress? On a psychophysiological level, what allows a competitor to shoot, catch or throw better than others?


*two researchers look at EEG cap on man's head, with basketballs and laptop in foreground*



**Sidebar note:**

Watch Kiersten Janjigian discussing her basketball experiment on the School of Public Health's [Instagram page](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBJbu9WBQkx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D).





**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Basketball](https://today.umd.edu/topic/basketball), [Brain and Behavior](https://today.umd.edu/topic/brain-and-behavior), [Kinesiology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/kinesiology), [Neuroscience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/neuroscience), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [School of Public Health](https://today.umd.edu/topic/school-public-health)