EEG Neurofeedback for anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders: a blueprint for a promising brain based therapy

Micoulaud-Franchi JA(#)(1)(2), Jeunet C(#)(3), Pelissolo A(4)(5), Ros T(6)(7).

Author information:
(1)Sleep Clinic, University Hospital of Bordeaux, 33 076, Bordeaux, France.
.
(2)USR CNRS 3413 SANPSY, University Hospital of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
.
(3)Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, EPHE, INCIA, UMR5287 F-33000, Bordeaux, France.
(4)DMU IMPACT, AP-HP Hôpital Henri Mondor, Univ Paris-Est Créteil, Créteil,
France.
(5)INSERM U955, 94010, Creteil, France.
(6)Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
(7)CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, Lausanne, Switzerland.
(#)Contributed equally

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review provides an overview of current knowledge and
understanding of EEG neurofeedback for anxiety disorders and post-traumatic
stress disorders.
RECENT FINDINGS: The manifestations of anxiety disorders and post-traumatic
stress disorders (PTSD) are associated with dysfunctions of neurophysiological
stress axes and brain arousal circuits, which are important dimensions of the
research domain criteria (RDoC). Even if the pathophysiology of these disorders
is complex, one of its defining signatures is behavioral and physiological
over-arousal. Interestingly, arousal-related brain activity can be modulated by
electroencephalogram-based neurofeedback (EEG NF), a non-pharmacological and
non-invasive method that involves neurocognitive training through a
brain-computer interface (BCI). EEG NF is characterized by a simultaneous
learning process where both patient and computer are involved in modifying
neuronal activity or connectivity, thereby improving associated symptoms of
anxiety and/or over-arousal. Positive effects of EEG NF have been described for
both anxiety disorders and PTSD, yet due to a number of methodological issues,
it remains unclear whether symptom improvement is the direct result of
neurophysiological changes targeted by EEG NF. Thus, in this work we sought to
bridge current knowledge on brain mechanisms of arousal with past and present
EEG NF therapies for anxiety and PTSD. In a nutshell, we discuss the
neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the effects of EEG NF in anxiety
disorder and PTSD, the methodological strengths/weaknesses of existing EEG NF
randomized controlled trials for these disorders, and the neuropsychological
factors that may impact NF training success.

© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business
Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

DOI: 10.1007/s11920-021-01299-9
PMID: 34714417 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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