The impact of ILF neurofeedback on inhibitory control in high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: Preliminary evidence of a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often exhibit impairments in inhibitory control, which can impact their cognitive functioning. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Infra-Low Frequency (ILF) neurofeedback in improving inhibitory control among high-functioning adolescents with ASD.

METHODS

A single-blind, two-armed randomized controlled trial was conducted with 24 adolescents with ASD randomly divided into two groups (active and sham; n = 12 per group). Both groups participated in 15 sessions of one-hour ILF neurofeedback, three times per week. The ILF neurofeedback protocol was applied to the active group, while the sham group received an inactive intervention. Outcomes were measured at the pretest, post-test, and follow-up stages.

RESULTS

ILF neurofeedback significantly improved inhibitory control in adolescents with ASD, as indicated by improvements in behavioral measures and absolute power analysis. The most significant differences were observed in alpha, theta, and gamma waves located in the central areas of the left gyrus. However, no significant effect was observed at the follow-up level on either behavioral measures or absolute power.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that ILF neurofeedback is effective in improving inhibitory control in high-functioning adolescents with ASD. This non-invasive intervention has the potential to improve inhibitory control in this population. However, future research is needed to determine the long-term effects of ILF neurofeedback.

Infra-low frequency neurofeedback training in Dravet syndrome: A case study

This case study examines how an intervention of infra-low frequency neurofeedback training (ILF-NFT) affects the symptomatology of an eight-year-old patient with Dravet syndrome (DS), a rare and highly disabling form of epilepsy. Our results demonstrate that ILF-NFT has improved the patient's sleep disturbance, has significantly reduced seizure frequency and severity, and has reversed neurodevelopmental decline, with positive development in intellectual and motor skills. No significant changes have been made to the patient's medication in the observed period of 2.5 years. Thus, we draw attention to ILF-NFT as a promising intervention in addressing DS symptomatology. Finally, we discuss the study's methodological limitations and warrant future studies to assess the effect of ILF-NFT in DS in more elaborate research designs.

Infra-Low Frequency Neurofeedback: A Systematic Mixed Studies Review

Introduction

Neurofeedback training is increasingly applied as a therapeutic tool in a variety of disorders, with growing scientific and clinical interest in the last two decades. Different Neurofeedback approaches have been developed over time, so it is now important to be able to distinguish between them and investigate the effectiveness and efficiency characteristics of each specific protocol. In this study we intend to examine the effects of Neurofeedback based on slow brain activity, the so-called Infra-Low Frequency (ILF) training a recently developed methodology that seems promising for the regulation of the central nervous system.

Aims

With this review we intend to summarize the currently existing literature on ILF-Neurofeedback, examine its quality and formulate indications about the clinical effectiveness of ILF-Neurofeedback.

Methods

Literature search was first conducted according to PRISMA principles, described, and then assessed using the MMAT appraisal tool. 18 well-documented studies of ILF-Neurofeedback training in human subjects were picked up and analyzed. Reports include group interventions as well as single case studies.

Results

Research data indicates good potential for ILF-Neurofeedback to influence brain activity and neurovegetative parameters. From the clinical profile, a salient common observation is a high level of individualization as a specific characteristic of ILF-Training: this feature seems to correlate with effectiveness of ILF-Neurofeedback, but also poses a challenge for researchers in terms of producing controlled and comparable findings; according to this point, some recommendation for future research on ILF-Neurofeedback are proposed. In conclusion, ILF-neurofeedback shows great potential for application for all those conditions in which the regulation of brain activity and neurophysiological processes are crucial. Further research will make it possible to complete the available data and to have a broader overview of its possible applications.