Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
Clin Neurophysiol. 2012 Oct;123(10):1989-2005. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2012.03.016. Epub 2012 May 17.
Tomographic neurofeedback (tNF) training was evaluated as a treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). To investigate the specificity of the treatment, outcomes were related to learning during tNF.
Thirteen children with ADHD trained over 36 lessons to regulate their brain activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) using both theta-beta frequency and slow cortical potential (SCP) protocols. Thirty-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) was used to calculate low-resolution electromagnetic tNF and to assess the course of the training. Pre- and post-assessments included questionnaires, tests of attention, EEG recordings, and cognitive event-related potentials.
Despite behavioural improvement and EEG artefact reduction, only partial learning was found for ACC parameters. Successful regulation was observed only for a simple feedback variant of SCP training, but with ACC-specific effects. Over training, resting EEG analysis indicated individual frequency normalisation rather than unidirectional changes across subjects.
These results indicate that clinical improvement after ACC-tNF training can parallel artefact reduction without substantial learning of improved cortical control. However, individual normalisation of resting EEG activity and partial SCP control proved possible in this specific brain region affected in ADHD using tNF. Further studies are needed to clarify which critical aspects mediate region-specific learning in neurofeedback.
This study is the first to systematically investigate tNF in children suffering from a psychiatric disorder.
断层神经反馈（tNF）训练被评估为治疗注意缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）的一种方法。为了研究治疗的特异性，将结果与 tNF 期间的学习相关联。
13 名患有 ADHD 的儿童接受了 36 次课程的训练，使用θ-β频率和慢皮层电位（SCP）协议来调节前扣带皮层（ACC）的大脑活动。30 通道脑电图（EEG）用于计算低分辨率电磁 tNF，并评估训练过程。预评估和后评估包括问卷调查、注意力测试、EEG 记录和认知事件相关电位。
尽管行为得到改善，脑电图（EEG）伪迹减少，但仅发现 ACC 参数的部分学习。仅观察到 SCP 训练的简单反馈变体的成功调节，但具有 ACC 特异性效应。随着训练的进行，静息 EEG 分析表明个体频率正常化，而不是跨受试者的单向变化。
这些结果表明，ACC-tNF 训练后的临床改善可以与 artefact 减少平行，而无需对皮质控制的改善进行实质性学习。然而，在使用 tNF 治疗的受影响特定脑区中，个体静息 EEG 活动的正常化和 SCP 控制的部分控制是可能的。需要进一步研究来阐明哪些关键方面介导神经反馈中的区域特异性学习。
本研究首次系统地研究了患有精神障碍的儿童的 tNF。
