Neurofeedback as a tool to modulate cognition and behavior
Article here from Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2017, 11:51. The abstract (note my italicized highlighting):
“Neurofeedback is attracting renewed interest as a method to self-regulate one’s own brain activity to directly alter the underlying neural mechanisms of cognition and behavior. It not only promises new avenues as a method for cognitive enhancement in healthy subjects, but also as a therapeutic tool. In the current article, we present a review tutorial discussing key aspects relevant to the development of electroencephalography (EEG) neurofeedback studies. In addition, the putative mechanisms underlying neurofeedback learning are considered. We highlight both aspects relevant for the practical application of neurofeedback as well as rather theoretical considerations related to the development of new generation protocols. Important characteristics regarding the set-up of a neurofeedback protocol are outlined in a step-by-step way. All these practical and theoretical considerations are illustrated based on a protocol and results of a frontal-midline theta up-regulation training for the improvement of executive functions. Not least, assessment criteria for the validation of neurofeedback studies as well as general guidelines for the evaluation of training efficacy are discussed.”
“Maintenance of voluntary self-regulation learned through neurofeedback,” Frontiers of Human Neuroscience, 2017, 11:131. “For clinical applications it is important to know if learned self-regulation can be maintained over longer periods of time and whether it transfers to situations without neurofeedback. Here, we present preliminary results from five healthy participants who successfully learned to control their visual cortex activity and who we re-scanned 6 and 14 months after the initial neurofeedback training to perform learned self-regulation. We found that participants achieved levels of self-regulation that were similar to those achieved at the end of the successful initial training, and this without… Read more »
The last study noted that the neurofeedback training was ‘active,’ meaning subjects were “trained to control the differential feedback between a target region of interest in early visual cortex” and “had to maintain fixation on a central point.” Whether this sort of enduring effect happens with ‘passive’ neurofeedback was not in this study. Also the study shows that “learned self-regulation is an acquired skill” initiated by the neurofeedback training, but they continued to practice the skill to maintain the desired effect. Like any learned skill, it first takes conscious practice but once ingrained it is then continually practiced nonconsciously.