Endogenous control of waking brain rhythms induces neuroplasticity in humans

Abstract

This study explores the possibility of noninvasively inducing long-term changes in human corticomotor excitability by means of a brain-computer interface, which enables users to exert internal control over the cortical rhythms recorded from the scalp. We demonstrate that self-regulation of electroencephalogram rhythms in quietly sitting, naive humans significantly affects the subsequent corticomotor response to transcranial magnetic stimulation, producing durable and correlated changes in neurotransmission. Specifically, we show that the intrinsic suppression of alpha cortical rhythms can in itself produce robust increases in corticospinal excitability and decreases in intracortical inhibition of up to 150%, which last for at least 20 min. Our observations may have important implications for therapies of brain disorders associated with abnormal cortical rhythms, and support the use of electroencephalogram-based neurofeedback as a noninvasive tool for establishing a causal link between rhythmic cortical activities and their functions.

Closed-loop brain training: the science of neurofeedback

“…TMS pulses were applied to the motor cortex to measure motor-evoked potentials after learned self-regulation, without regulation or under other control conditions to probe for neuro plastic changes in the strength (that is, the excitability) of the corticospinal pathway. It was discovered that neurofeedback was associated with sustained (that is, lasting more than 20 min) decreases in intracortical inhibition following single 55 or repeated 56 training sessions.…”

“…Neurofeedback-induced neuroplasticity, in the form of cortical excitability changes, has been demonstrated in humans by using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on the trained brain region 55,56 . TMS pulses were applied to the motor cortex to measure motor-evoked potentials after learned self-regulation, without regulation or under other control conditions to probe for neuro plastic changes in the strength (that is, the excitability) of the corticospinal pathway.…”

The Progression of Neurofeedback: An Evolving Paradigm in Addiction Treatment and Relapse Prevention

“…26 However, by observing its own dysregulated state via neurofeedback, the brain can be propelled into novel state configurations, which are susceptible to reinforcement and consolidation. 24 Ros et al 27 observed significant changes in neuronal activity following a session of neurofeedback training, which lasted for over 20 minutes. 27 Addiction patients who underwent neurofeedback training reported experiencing dysphoria when they used a substance following the treatment, indicating that the intervention may have rewired the brain's response to substance use.…”

Resting-state Abnormalities in Heroin-dependent Individuals

“…These structural changes lead to behavioral modulations and they seem to be affected by diverse factors including brain pathology, aging, stress, as well as, trophic and gonadal factors (Kolb and Whishaw, 1998). Moreover, it was revealed in a recent study that the control of natural human brain using brain-computer interface (BCI) results in sustained excitability of motor cortex indicating not only that brain oscillations could mediate plasticity (Ros et al, 2010), but also that BCI methods lead to functional modulations.…”

“…Neurofeedback is a brainwave biofeedback technique (Hammond, 2011) based onoperant conditioning that might be a promising treatment tool to regulate brain plasticity in a natural, non-invasive and painless way (Ros et al, 2010) but it is not widely accepted due to its limited use (Dehghani-Arani et al, 2013). Demos (2005) defined neurofeedback as a therapeutic method that is designed for mind and body optimal training resulting in cognitive, physical, emotional and behavioral improvement.…”