theADHDdoc.com - Your guide to medications and complementary and alternative treatments for ADD & ADHD.

Your guide to medications and complementary and alternative treatments for ADD & ADHD.

Can EEG Biofeedback Help?

The results of four controlled group studies indicate that patients with ADHD are able to learn how to improve attention and behavioral control through a procedure called EEG biofeedback (or neurotherapy). In EEG biofeedback, patients are taught how to recognize when their brains are in an "alert" state and when they are in an "inattentive" or "unfocused" state. The therapist attaches EEG sensors to regions of the scalp and can detect activation of brain regions involved in alertness and behavioral control. When the patient produces a half of a second of "alert" EEG activity, they are rewarded with a tone and/or a movement of characters on a computer monitor, encouraging them to continue that type of activity. During the course of treatment, patients learn to regulate the activation of the frontal lobe and/or the sensorimotor cortex.

Those patients who learn such control (about 75% of patients who volunteered for this type of treatment in controlled studies) demonstrated significant gains on rating scales of attention and behavioral control, as well as, on continuous performance tests. Improvement on tests of intelligence has also been reported. In addition, patients who participated in the study conducted by our clinic demonstrated ability to sustain these improvements, even when their medication was discontinued. Follow-up studies have indicated that these gains continued to be demonstrated three years after treatment was concluded. To find where EEG biofeedback is offered in your area, call the Association for Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback (303-422-8436) or the International Society for Neuronal Regulation (800-488-3867).