Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback - also known as EEG Biofeedback - is an approach for treating childhood and adult ADHD that has been studied and practiced for several decades. Through attached sensors, an individual’s brain wave responses to certain stimulus are measured in real time and the individual is taught to modify their cognitive responses, which translates into altered behavior. The way that EEG biofeedback training works is that the subject is given information about how his or her brain is working at the moment, and the subject uses that information to learn to change and control his own brain waves. NASA, the Navy and several major corporations use Neurofeedback to train pilots and executives to stay calm and focused during stressful situations. Neurofeedback may take at least 20 and up to 50 sessions to achieve the desired results.
Neurofeedback, unlike the commonly prescribed stimulants, has no negative physical side effects. It is a non-invasive form of therapy. Moreover, unlike medication, the training appears to produce permanent alterations in learning and behavior. Other studies show that neurofeedback may have many positive effects, such as increasing IQ and helping to relieve anxiety.
Neurofeedback’s use in treating ADHD is based on findings that measurements of brain activity in many individuals with ADHD indicate reduced activity in the prefrontal region and frontal lobes (cortical slowing). Neurofeedback treatment is designed to train individuals to increase the production of brainwave patterns that reduce or eliminate this cortical slowing, and thereby reducing or eliminating ADHD symptoms.
One significant study, The Effects of Stimulant Therapy, EEG Biofeedback & Parenting Style on the primary symptoms of ADHD (Monastra et. al.) found some strong evidence that Neurofeedback, combined with stimulant medication, parent and school counseling, and demonstrated far better results that the same combined modalities without Neurofeedback. The study was conducted over a 12-month period with 100 children, predominantly male, average age 10. Preliminary reports of this research were presented at the CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder) national conference in 1999 and the annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2000. The findings indicate that Neurofeedback is a viable form of treatment for childhood ADHD and is critical for adult ADHD, where medication is less effective.
In a recent paper Update on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder published in Current Opinion in Pediatrics Katie Campbell Daley reviewed the research and practice standards on treatment of ADHD. Dr. Campbell serves on the staff of the Department of Medicine, Children’s Hospital Boston and in the Department of Pediatrics of the Harvard Medical School. She concluded:
“Overall, these findings support the use of multi-modal treatment, including medication, parent/school counseling, and EEG biofeedback, in the long term management of ADHD, with EEG biofeedback in particular providing a sustained effect even without stimulant treatment…parents interested in non-psychopharmacologic treatment can pursue the use of complementary and alternative therapy. The therapy most promising by recent clinical trials appears to be EEG biofeedback.”
Recently the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) issued a press release announcing that they are funding a research project on “novel and innovative approaches to treating children who have ADHD, focused on EEG Biofeedback training, Neurofeedback. L.Eugene Arnold, M.D., and Nicholas Lofthouse, Ph.D., of The Ohio State University, will lead the study. With the huge public backlash against increasingly expensive medications with side effects, uncertain outcomes and potential dangers, there is no doubt that interest in less invasive, more thoughtful and interactive therapies will continue. The move by the NIMH to test of efficacy of Neurofeedback techniques indicates that the medical community has acknowledged the potential of this approach and may move to benchmark and standardize its usage.