Neurofeedback through the lens of reinforcement learning

Lubianiker, Nitzan; Paret, Christian; Dayan, Peter; Hendler, Talma

doi:10.1016/j.tins.2022.03.008

Cited by 33 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…We do not have detailed information on how they adjusted their emotion regulation strategies based on the feedback. Future studies need to explore how individuals adjusted emotion regulation strategies as described in a recent review paper [50].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-Time fMRI Functional Connectivity Neurofeedback Reducing Repetitive Negative Thinking in Depression: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Sham-Controlled Proof-of-Concept Trial

Tsuchiyagaito¹,

Misaki²,

Kirlić³

et al. 2023

Psychother Psychosom

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Introduction: Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a cognitive process focusing on self-relevant and negative experiences, leading to a poor prognosis of major depressive disorder (MDD). We previously identified that connectivity between the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) was positively correlated with levels of RNT. Objective: In this double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled, proof-of-concept trial, we employed real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rtfMRI-nf) to delineate the neural processes that may be causally linked to RNT and could potentially become treatment targets for MDD. Methods: MDD-affected individuals were assigned to either active (n = 20) or sham feedback group (n = 19). RNT was measured by the Ruminative Response Scale-brooding subscale (RRS-B) before and 1 week after the intervention. Results: Individuals in the active but not in the sham group showed a significant reduction in the RRS-B; however, a greater reduction in the PCC-rTPJ connectivity was unrelated to a greater reduction in the RRS-B. Exploratory analyses revealed that a greater reduction in the retrosplenial cortex (RSC)-rTPJ connectivity yielded a more pronounced reduction in the RRS-B in the active but not in the sham group. Conclusions: RtfMRI-nf was effective in reducing RNT. Considering the underlying mechanism of rtfMIR-nf, the RSC and rTPJ could be part of a network (i.e., default mode network) that might collectively affect the intensity of RNT. Understanding the relationship between the functional organization of targeted neural changes and clinical metrics, such as RNT, has the potential to guide the development of mechanism-based treatment of MDD.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-Time fMRI Functional Connectivity Neurofeedback Reducing Repetitive Negative Thinking in Depression: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Sham-Controlled Proof-of-Concept Trial

Tsuchiyagaito¹,

Misaki²,

Kirlić³

et al. 2023

Psychother Psychosom

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“…These improvements represent a step forward towards refining the precision of DecNef. However, there were inter-individual differences in learning during DecNef, as commonly observed in neurofeedback studies, due to differences in attention, motivation (Kadosh & Staunton, 2019) or metacognitive abilities (Lubianiker, Paret, Dayan, & Hendler, 2022; Muñoz-Moldes & Cleeremans, 2020; Stirner et al, 2022). Future DecNef studies would benefit from developing personalised training protocols to enhance learning within each individual.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Unconscious manipulation of conceptual representations with decoded neurofeedback impacts search behaviour

Margolles¹,

Elosegi²,

Mei³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The necessity of conscious awareness in human learning has been a long-standing topic in psychology and neuroscience. Previous research on non-conscious associative learning is limited by the low signal-to-noise ratio of the subliminal stimulus, and the evidence remains controversial, including failures to replicate. Here, functional MRI decoded neurofeedback (DecNef) allowed participants to generate brain activity patterns consistent with a perceptual state without awareness of the represented content. We aimed to instill perceptual meaning into a meaningless hiragana by conditioning it through reinforcing neural patterns associated with perceptual content (i.e. living), thereby bypassing the conscious mapping between symbol and the perceptual referent. Despite being unaware of the goal of DecNef training, participants learned to induce the target representation in fusiform cortex. Then, the behavioural significance of DecNef training was evaluated in a visual search task. DecNef and control participants searched for living or non-living targets that were pre-cued by the targeted hiragana during DecNef or by a novel hiragana. The targeted hiragana did not prime search for the associated target but, strikingly, participants were impaired at searching for the perceptual content targeted by DecNef. Hence, conscious awareness may function to support higher-order associative learning, while lower-level forms of re-learning, modification, or plasticity in established neural representations can occur unconsciously, with behavioural consequences outside the original training context. The work also offers an account of DecNef effects in terms of neural representational drift.

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“…NF treatment includes components of reinforcement learning whose paradigms have also been used for cognitive behavioral therapies and for characterizing other mental health conditions (e.g., Brown et al, 2021; Lubianiker et al, 2022; Queirazza et al, 2019). It is therefore critical to understand the underlying cognitive effects of NF which can help to personalize treatment planning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A diffusion decision model analysis of the cognitive effects of neurofeedback for ADHD.

Ging-Jehli,

Painter,

Kraemer

et al. 2024

Neuropsychology

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Objective: To examine cognitive effects of neurofeedback (NF) for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a secondary outcome of a randomized clinical trial. Method: In a double-blind randomized clinical trial (NCT02251743), 133 7-10-year olds with ADHD received either 38 sessions of NF (n = 78) or control treatment (n = 55) and performed an integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test at baseline, mid-and end-treatment. We used the diffusion decision model to decompose integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test performance at each assessment into cognitive components: efficiency of integrating stimulus information (v), context sensitivity (c v ), response cautiousness (a), response bias (z /a), and nondecision time for perceptual encoding and response execution (T er ). Based on prior findings, we tested whether the components known to be deficient improved with NF and explored whether other cognitive components improved using linear mixed modeling. Results: Before NF, children with ADHD showed main deficits in integrating stimulus information (v), which led to less accurate and slower responses than healthy controls ( p = .008). The NF group showed significantly more improvement in integrating auditory stimulus information (v) than control treatment (significant group-by-time-by-modality effect: p = .044). Conclusions: NF seems to improve v, deficient in ADHD. Key PointsQuestion: How does cognitive processing change in response to neurofeedback? Findings: Neurofeedback improves latent cognitive processes that are involved in integrating stimulus information and that are quantified with sequential sampling models. Importance: It is therefore critical to understand the underlying cognitive effects of neurofeedback, which can help to personalize treatment planning. Next Steps: More studies are needed that use process-oriented computational models, together with mechanistic neurocognitive tests, to disentangle the different therapeutic ingredients of neurofeedback.

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Neurofeedback through the lens of reinforcement learning

Cited by 33 publications

References 74 publications

Real-Time fMRI Functional Connectivity Neurofeedback Reducing Repetitive Negative Thinking in Depression: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Sham-Controlled Proof-of-Concept Trial

Real-Time fMRI Functional Connectivity Neurofeedback Reducing Repetitive Negative Thinking in Depression: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Sham-Controlled Proof-of-Concept Trial

Unconscious manipulation of conceptual representations with decoded neurofeedback impacts search behaviour

A diffusion decision model analysis of the cognitive effects of neurofeedback for ADHD.

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