Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan; Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan; Pervasive Artificial Intelligence Research (PAIR) Labs, Taiwan.
J Affect Disord. 2020 Apr 1;266:235-242. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.01.175. Epub 2020 Jan 28.
Electroencephalography (EEG) has revealed increased beta activity in patients with comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety symptoms. Negative emotions and high beta activity could be decreased by a high beta down-training neurofeedback (NFB) protocol. The present study utilized three objective parameters - trainability, independence, and interpretability - to validate the effects of high beta down-training sessions.
EEG data were collected from 23 patients with comorbid MDD and anxiety symptoms during high beta down-training sessions. Participants received five weeks of training, two sessions per week, to down-train high beta amplitude (20-32 Hz) at EEG sites P3 and P4. Three efficacy parameters were examined by comparing pre-training and post-training EEG.
The trainability index revealed the learning curves of reduced high beta activity at P3 and P4, confirming training effects across and within sessions. The independence index revealed only beta band activity decreased. The interpretability index revealed the decreased high beta activity was positively correlated with decreased severity of depression, especially for cognitive depression.
With only ten sessions in this study, it is unknown whether the NFB training caused extended and stable learning effects. Additionally, combining high beta down-training protocol with enhancing another target band could better ensure the desired changes in brain activity. Finally, the effect of medication on EEG cannot be excluded in present study.
The trainability, independence and interpretability of the high beta down-training NFB protocol were confirmed, supporting the protocol's use in future research and clinical applications.
脑电图（EEG）显示，合并有重度抑郁障碍（MDD）和焦虑症状的患者β波活动增加。高β波下调神经反馈（NFB）方案可以降低负性情绪和高β波活动。本研究利用三个客观参数——可训练性、独立性和可解释性，验证高β波下调疗程的效果。
在高β波下调疗程中，从 23 名合并有 MDD 和焦虑症状的患者中采集 EEG 数据。参与者接受五周的训练，每周两次，以降低 EEG 部位 P3 和 P4 的高β波幅度（20-32 Hz）。通过比较训练前后的 EEG，检查了三个疗效参数。
可训练性指数揭示了 P3 和 P4 处高β波活动减少的学习曲线，证实了跨疗程和疗程内的训练效果。独立性指数显示只有β频段活动减少。可解释性指数显示，高β波活动的降低与抑郁严重程度的降低呈正相关，特别是对认知性抑郁。
在这项研究中，只有十次疗程，尚不清楚 NFB 训练是否会引起扩展和稳定的学习效果。此外，将高β波下调方案与增强另一个目标频段相结合，可以更好地确保大脑活动的预期变化。最后，在目前的研究中不能排除药物对 EEG 的影响。
高β波下调 NFB 方案的可训练性、独立性和可解释性得到了证实，支持该方案在未来的研究和临床应用中使用。
