Department of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany.
kbo-Heckscher-Klinikum, Munich, Germany.
Psychol Med. 2020 Jan;50(2):258-263. doi: 10.1017/S0033291718004130. Epub 2019 Jan 24.
As children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) usually show psychopathological signs beyond their core symptoms (e.g. elevated scores of the dysregulation profile (DP) in 30-40%), treatments with a broader approach to self-regulation skills may be supportive. Neurofeedback (NF) may reflect such an option. Aim of the present analysis was to compare the effects of slow cortical potential (SCP) NF and θ/β NF on the DP using data from a previous trial.
Thirty children with ADHD (aged 8-12 years) and a DP score in the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-DP) ⩾ 3 were included. NF treatment consisted of one block of SCP NF and one block of θ/β NF (18 units per block) allowing an intraindividual comparison. Effects of the NF protocols were also contrasted to a control group (n = 18) that completed an attention skills training (between-group analysis).
Regarding the SDQ-DP, SCP NF was superior to θ/β NF and the control condition. Effects of SCP NF and θ/β NF on ADHD symptom severity were not significantly different. The SDQ-DP score did not correlate with EEG-related measures previously found to be predictors for SCP NF on ADHD symptoms.
SCP NF may reflect a more general approach to improve cognitive, emotional and behavioral self-regulation skills. If confirmed in a larger sample, the SDQ-DP score could be used as an indication criterion and contribute to the individualization of NF in ADHD. Overall, the differential effect provides further evidence for the specificity of NF effects.
患有注意缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）的儿童通常表现出核心症状以外的精神病理迹象（例如，30-40%的儿童失调特征谱（DP）评分升高），因此，使用更广泛的自我调节技能治疗方法可能会有所帮助。神经反馈（NF）可能就是这样一种选择。本分析旨在使用先前试验的数据比较慢皮质电位（SCP）NF 和 θ/β NF 对 DP 的影响。
30 名患有 ADHD（年龄 8-12 岁）且 SDQ-DP 评分（Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-DP）≥3 的儿童被纳入研究。NF 治疗包括一个 SCP NF 块和一个 θ/β NF 块（每个块 18 个单元），允许进行个体内比较。NF 方案的效果还与完成注意力技能训练的对照组（n = 18，组间分析）进行了对比。
就 SDQ-DP 而言，SCP NF 优于 θ/β NF 和对照组。SCP NF 和 θ/β NF 对 ADHD 症状严重程度的影响没有显著差异。SDQ-DP 评分与之前发现与 SCP NF 对 ADHD 症状预测相关的 EEG 相关指标无关。
SCP NF 可能反映了一种更广泛的方法，可改善认知、情绪和行为的自我调节技能。如果在更大的样本中得到证实，SDQ-DP 评分可以作为 NF 治疗 ADHD 的指示标准，并有助于 NF 的个体化。总的来说，这种差异效应为 NF 效应的特异性提供了进一步的证据。
