Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Placebo and Nocebo Effects in Sports - a Protocol Paper

The lead researcher will deliver a short presentation (8 minutes) to participants informing them about the deceptive substance, presenting it as a performance enhancing neurostimulant,. Participants will be given the opportunity to ask questions and will receive a handout of the key points of the presentation. After the presentation, participants will be set up with a high-density EEG and given two inert pills filled with cornstarch. Participants will be reminded of the performance enhancing qualities of the deceptive substance by implicit adjectives on a screen. Afterwards, experimental performance outcomes will be collected using a dynamometer.

The lead researcher will deliver a short presentation (8 minutes) to participants informing them about the deceptive substance, presenting it as a performance inhibiting neuro-depressant. Participants will be given the opportunity to ask questions and will receive a handout of the key points of the presentation. After the presentation, participants will be set up with a high-density EEG and given two inert pills filled with cornstarch. Participants will be reminded of the performance inhibiting qualities of the deceptive substance by implicit adjectives on a screen. Afterwards, experimental performance outcomes will be collected using a dynamometer.

The lead researcher will deliver a short presentation (8 minutes) to participants informing them about EEG research and set ups and give general information about isometric strength testing. They will be shown neutral adjectives unrelated to performance instead of implicit adjectives related to performance (experimental groups). EEG set up and strength testing remains the same as the experimental groups.