Efficacy of Neurofeedback Interventions for Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Brain Injury: Systematic Review and Recommendations for Future Research

OBJECTIVES

Interest in neurofeedback therapies (NFTs) has grown exponentially in recent years, encouraged both by escalating public interest and the financial support of health care funding agencies. Given NFTs' growing prevalence and anecdotally reported success in treating common effects of acquired brain injury (ABI), a systematic review of the efficacy of NFTs for the rehabilitation of ABI-related cognitive impairment is warranted.

METHODS

Eligible studies included adult samples (18+ years) with ABI, the use of neurofeedback technology for therapeutic purposes (as opposed to assessment), the inclusion of a meaningful control group/condition, and clear cognitive-neuropsychological outcomes. Initial automated search identified n = 86 candidate articles, however, only n = 4 studies met the stated eligibility criteria.

RESULTS

Results were inconsistent across studies and cognitive domains. Methodological and theoretical limitations precluded robust and coherent conclusions with respect to the cognitive rehabilitative properties of NFTs. We take the results of these systematic analyses as a reflection of the state of the literature at this time. These results offer a constructive platform to further discuss a number of methodological, theoretical, and ethical considerations relating to current and future NFT-ABI research and clinical intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the limited quantity and quality of the available research, there appears to be insufficient evidence to comment on the efficacy of NFTs within an ABI rehabilitation context at this time. It is imperative that future work increase the level of theoretical and methodological rigour if meaningful advancements are to be made understanding and evaluating NFT-ABI applications.

Short-term Beneficial Effects of 12 Sessions of Neurofeedback on Avoidant Personality Accentuation in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder

This study evaluated the effects of alpha/theta neurofeedback on Clinical Personality Accentuations in individuals with alcohol use disorder. Twenty-five males were investigated using a pre-test/post-test design with a waiting-list control group. Participants were randomly assigned either to an experimental group (n = 13) receiving 12 sessions of neurofeedback twice a week as a treatment adjunct over a period of 6 weeks, or to a control group (n = 12) receiving treatment as usual. The Inventory of Clinical Personality Accentuations and the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory were applied at pre- and post-test. The neurofeedback protocol focused on enhancement of the EEG alpha (8-12 Hz) and theta (4-7 Hz) and used a visual feedback paradigm. Analyses of covariance showed improvements in Avoidant Personality Accentuation within the experimental group. Our data suggest that 12 sessions of this neurofeedback intervention might be effective in reducing avoidant and stress-related personality traits in patients with alcohol use disorder.