cortical activation
Research Papers
Efficacy of Neurofeedback Versus Pharmacological Support in Subjects with ADHD
Behavioral training in neurofeedback has proven to be an essential complement to generalize the effects of pharmacological support in subjects who have attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Therefore, this investigation attempts to analyze the efficacy of neurofeedback compared with pharmacological support and the combination of both. Participants were 131 students, classified into four groups: control (did not receive neurofeedback or pharmacological support), neurofeedback group, pharmacological support group, and combined group (neurofeedback + pharmacological support). Participants’ executive control and cortical activation were assessed before and after treatment. Results indicate that the combined group obtained more benefits and that the neurofeedback group improved to a greater extent in executive control than the pharmacological support group. It is concluded that this kind of training may be an alternative to stimulate activation in subjects with ADHD.
View Full Paper →Neuroflexibility and Sleep Onset Insomnia Among College Students: Implications for Neurotherapy
This study was designed to assess a neuroflexibility model of sleep onset insomnia among college students. Neuroflexibility refers to the ability to adjust cortical activation consistent with environmental demands. It was anticipated that good sleepers would demonstrate better feedback contingent alpha control, defined as the ability to both enhance alpha and suppress alpha, than poor sleepers. Ten good and 10 poor sleepers participated in two sessions of bidirectional alpha feedback. As predicted, good sleepers demonstrated better alpha control compared to poor sleepers, although this pattern was only partially replicated in a second session. This study provides a degree of empirical support for interventions designed to enhance neuroflexibility in the treatment of some people with sleep onset insomnia.
View Full Paper →Electroencephalographic biofeedback in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Historically, pharmacological treatments for attentiondeficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been considered to be the only type of interventions effective for reducing the core symptoms of this condition. However, during the past three decades, a series of caseand controlled-group studies examining the effects of EEG biofeedback have reported improved attention and behavioral control, increased cortical activation on quantitative electroencephalographic examination, and gains on tests of intelligence and academic achievement in response to this type of treatment. This review paper critically examines the empirical evidence, applying the efficacy guidelines jointly established by the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB) and the International Society for Neuronal Regulation (ISNR). On the basis of these scientific principles, EEG biofeedback was determined to be "probably efficacious" for the treatment of ADHD. Although significant clinical improvement was reported in approximately 75% of the patients in each of the published research studies, additional randomized, controlled group studies are needed in order to provide a better estimate of the percentage of patients with ADHD who will demonstrate such gains in clinical practice
View Full Paper →Electroencephalographic biofeedback (neurotherapy) as a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: rationale and empirical foundation
During the past three decades, electroencephalographic (EEG) biofeedback has emerged as a nonpharmacologic treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This intervention was derived from operant conditioning studies that demonstrated capacity for neurophysiologic training in humans and other mammals and targets atypical patterns of cortical activation that have been identified consistently in neuroimaging and quantitative EEG studies of patients diagnosed with ADHD. This article presents the rationale for EEG biofeedback and examines the empirical support for this treatment using efficacy guidelines established by the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback and the International Society for Neuronal Regulation. Based on these guidelines, EEG biofeedback is considered to be "probably efficacious" for the treatment of ADHD and merits consideration as a treatment for patients who are stimulant "nonresponders." Although research findings published to date indicate positive clinical response in approximately 75% of patients treated in controlled group studies, additional randomized, controlled trials are needed to provide a better estimate of the robustness of this treatment.
View Full Paper →Functional MRI for neurofeedback: feasibility studyon a hand motor task
We present an fMRI-based method that enables subjects to monitor and actively modulate their own brain activity as a form of biofeedback. On a 1.5T clinical MR scanner, functional areas during a simple hand motor task were delineated by detecting signal variations associated with the brain activity. Then, the subject adopted a different strategy to expand the activation in motor and somatosensory areas that were not activated previously. Statistical maps of brain activity were visually presented back to the subject, being updated at the end of each segmented rest-task block in near real-time manner. Our results suggest that the visual feedback of the functional brain activation maps guided subjects to adjust their task performance to achieve the desired modulation of cortical activity. This method may offer a potential utility for fMRI-based neurofeedback
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