Neuhäußer AM, Bluschke A, Roessner V, Beste C. Distinct effects of different neurofeedback protocols on the neural mechanisms of response inhibition in ADHD.
Clin Neurophysiol 2023;
153:111-122. [PMID:
37478508 DOI:
10.1016/j.clinph.2023.06.014]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
In attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), impaired response inhibition is frequently observed. A promising non-pharmacological treatment is electroencephalography (EEG)-neurofeedback (NF) training. However, the widely used theta-down/beta-up regulation (↓θ↑β) NF protocol may not be optimal for targeting these deficits. We examined how neurofeedback protocols training the upregulation of theta and/or beta power affect inhibitory control in children and adolescents with ADHD.
METHODS
64 patients with ADHD took part in the three NF trainings. Aside from parent-reported ADHD symptoms and behavioural performance data, neurophysiological parameters collected via a Go/Nogo task and corrected to account for intraindividual variability were compared in a pre-post design and to an ADHD (n = 20) as well as a typically developing control group (n = 24).
RESULTS
The examined NF protocols resulted in similar improvements in response inhibition with the neurophysiological mechanisms differing substantially. The upregulation of theta led to a specific Nogo-P3 increase, while training beta upregulation as well as the combined protocol resulted in less specific effects.
CONCLUSIONS
This study shows distinct effects of different theta/beta-neurofeedback protocols on the neural mechanisms underlying improvements in response inhibition in patients with ADHD.
SIGNIFICANCE
These effects shed further light on the oscillatory dynamics underlying cognitive control in ADHD and how these may be targeted in neurofeedback treatments.
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