The Effectiveness of Using Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Neurofeedback is an innovative treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is readily accessible to mental health therapists. As a widespread mental health concern with potentially devastating long-term consequences on psychosocial functioning, PTSD can also adversely impact biophysiological processes, particularly those related to the brain. Neurofeedback has shown promise in alleviating overall PTSD symptoms, including these underlying neurobiological consequences. Successful results have been found among clients with PTSD who have not been responsive to prior treatment modalities. While a strong base of clinical anecdotes and case studies supports its success in treating PTSD, intervention studies on neurofeedback have been critiqued for lack of rigor and poor methodological design. A current systematic review of the literature on the effectiveness of neurofeedback in treating PTSD was conducted. Unlike prior reviews which emphasized neurobiological changes, this study was written for the mental health therapist and focused solely on behavioral outcomes. Ten studies met the criteria for inclusion in this review. Neurofeedback demonstrated salubrious results in at least one outcome measure for the majority of participants across all studies. Interpretations, however, are limited by wide discrepancies in sample sizes, study designs, outcome measures, and the extent of reported results. Future research in this area would benefit from prioritizing randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes and longitudinal follow-up results.

The Electrical Aftermath: Brain Signals of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Filtered Through a Clinical Lens

“…In some contexts, patients are provided with examples of cognitive/emotional strategies that may assist in changing their brain activity, such as thinking of positive memories or future plans, or engaging in a working memory task. There have been recent reviews summarizing findings from clinical outcome studies using EEG neurofeedback for PTSD (201, 202). These reviews highlight the limitations of the field, including small sample sizes, lack of placebo controls, and/or lack of randomization to intervention conditions.…”

“…In sum, although neurofeedback is associated with PTSD symptom reduction across multiple studies, additional randomized control trials are warranted to determine how well neurofeedback performs in comparison to other treatments (201). While combined EEG and fMRI recordings allow for more precise spatial localization of brain changes than EEG alone, fMRI methodology is much more expensive and less mobile than current EEG systems, many of which are portable and can be easily set up for use in a clinic, university, or hospital.…”

Game-Based Meditation Therapy to Improve Posttraumatic Stress and Neurobiological Stress Systems in Traumatized Adolescents: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The neurofeedback element of the intervention involves retraining brain patterns through operant conditioning. Neurofeedback reinforces individuals’ relaxation abilities [ 51 ] and can reduce posttraumatic symptoms [ 52 ].…”

Neurofeedback: An Examination of Attentional Processes in Adults with Self-Reported PTSD Symptoms

“…(EEG) neurofeedback training is a readily available treatment that has been identified as effectively reducing PTSD symptoms by training individuals to self-regulate brainwave frequencies (La Marca et al, 2018;Panisch & Hai, 2020). Neurofeedback therapy is administered through a brain-computer interaction (BCI) device, which provides a structured training program tailored to each participant.…”