Compared to non-active control treatments , NF appears to have more durable treatment effects , for at least 6 months following treatment .
Neurofeedback ( NF ) has gained increasing interest in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) .
Given learning principles underlie NF , lasting clinical treatment effects may be expected .
This systematic review and meta- analysis addresses the sustainability of neurofeedback and control treatment effects by considering r and omized controlled studies that conducted follow-up ( FU ; 2–12 months ) assessment s among children with ADHD .
A 6-month follow-up of an RCT on behavioral and neurocognitive effects of neurofeedback in children with ADHD
Abstract To assess the long-term effects of neurofeedback ( NFB ) in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) , we compared behavioral and neurocognitive outcomes at a 6-month naturalistic follow-up of a r and omized controlled trial on NFB , methylpheni date ( MPH ) , and physical activity ( PA ) .  Ninety-two children with a DSM-IV-TR ADHD diagnosis , aged 7–13 , receiving NFB ( n = 33 ) , MPH ( n = 28 ) , or PA ( n = 31 ) , were re-assessed 6-months after the interventions . NFB comprised theta/beta training on the vertex ( cortical zero ) . PA comprised moderate to vigorous intensity exercises . Outcome measures included parent and teacher behavioral reports , and neurocognitive measures ( auditory oddball , stop-signal , and visual spatial working memory tasks ) . At follow-up , longitudinal hierarchical multilevel model analyses revealed no significant group differences for parent reports and neurocognitive measures ( p = .058–.997 ) , except for improved inhibition in MPH compared to NFB ( p = .040 ) and faster response speed in NFB compared to PA ( p = .012 ) during the stop-signal task . These effects , however , disappeared after controlling for medication use at follow-up . Interestingly , teacher reports showed less inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity at follow-up for NFB than PA ( p = .004–.010 ) , even after controlling for medication use ( p = .013–.036 ) . Our findings indicate that the superior results previously found for parent reports and neurocognitive outcome measures obtained with MPH compared to NFB and PA post intervention became smaller or non-significant at follow-up . Teacher reports suggested superior effects of NFB over PA ; however , some children had different teachers at follow-up . Therefore , this finding should be interpreted with caution . Clinical trial registration Train your brain and exercise your heart ? Advancing the treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD ) , Ref . no. NCT01363544 , https:// clinical trials.gov/show/NCT01363544
Compared to non-active control treatments , NF appears to have more durable treatment effects , for at least 6 months following treatment .
Neurofeedback ( NF ) has gained increasing interest in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) .
Given learning principles underlie NF , lasting clinical treatment effects may be expected .
This systematic review and meta- analysis addresses the sustainability of neurofeedback and control treatment effects by considering r and omized controlled studies that conducted follow-up ( FU ; 2–12 months ) assessment s among children with ADHD .