EFFICACY OF EEG BIOFEEDBACK TRAINING ON EEG MATURATION

IN ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

First Medical School of Charles University Prague - Grant study for Ministry of Health CR

Jiri Tyl¹, Ph.D., Svojmil Petranek², M.D., Ph.D., Eva Noskova¹, M.D., Vladimir Krajca², M.Sc.

¹Charles University, Prague, First Medical School - EEG Biofeedback Clinical Research Laboratory

²Neurology Dept. of University Hospital Bulovka, Prague, Czech Republic

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Poster at XI International Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology.

Abstract published:

Clinical Neurophysiology 110 (Supplementum 1), S261-262. 1999.

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Rationale:

Efficacy of EEG Biofeedback training in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on brain electrical activity was studied.

Methods:

Thirty sessions (45 minutes each) of EEG Biofeedback training were applied to 40 ADHD subjects aged 9-13 years. Two-channel Brainfeedback® equipment was used. Training protocols addressed ADHD symptoms (left hemisphere inattentiveness and right hemisphere hyperactivity). The EEG conditioning protocols rewarded EEG amplitudes in the 15-20 and 12-15 Hz frequency bands respectively, and inhibited theta (4-7 Hz) and fast beta (>20 Hz) bands. Independent EEG assessments were provided.

Results:

Clinical EEG evaluations before and after treatment were followed by quantitative EEG and multivariate mathematical analyses by Wave-Finder software.

Pre-training EEG of subjects averaged from moderate to heavy retarded EEG (an insufficient alpha presence, and a diffuse slow activity).

Post-training signal decreased significantly in delta (1-3 Hz; p<0.001) and fast beta (>20 Hz; p<0.05) activity in the stimulated areas.

Mathematical analyses confirmed significant changes in the increase of stability; lower amplitude and amplitude variance; the maximum occurrence of the alpha activity moved from central-parietal areas into parietal-occipital.

Conclusions:

The efficacy study has reached changes in EEG native signal following the training: post-training clinical evaluation found significant (p<0.001) shift in the group average to age-adequate maturation level.

The overall brain electrical activity has matured and normalized in 85 per cent of the ADHD subjects.